REPORTS AND REALITIES
FROM THE
SKETCH-BOOK OF A MANAGER
OF THE
ROSINE ASSOCIATION.
DECEMBER, 1855.
PHILADELPHIA:
JOHN DUROSS, PRINTER,
BLACK HORSE ALLEY.
1855.








PREFACE.
WELL, we are going to publish a book! What
is the object? We have two motives. We desire
to benefit those who may read, and we want them
to aid us, by purchasing and circulating our book.
Are people prepared for it? Will they not condemn it as an immoral publication?  We know
that many persons have full sympathy with us, but
these are not they whom we hope to benefit. The
well need no physician! We wish to reach those
who are not prepared, whose faith in our work is
only as a grain of mustard seed; and we want in
this book to use the appliances that may foster it,
to give our rain and sunshine, our spring-time and
harvest, our faith and our hope, our belief that a
class of society who have been considered hopeless
and irreclaimable, have been, and may yet be
reached, as the hands of Christian women may be
extended to aid and encourage them, give them an
opportunity of earning an honest and respectable




iv                PREFACE.
livelihood, and are willing to act as teachers to
point them Zionward, while in their own deportment they show that they themselves are followers
of the meek and lowly Jesus, and that they are
living out his Gospel.
We are surrounded by persons who rarely do
their own thinking, who are influenced by the
popular opinions of their own particular circle or
ministerial teacher.  Such people are never prepared to develope the humanity that is in their
own hearts, or comprehend the feelings that lie
buried in others, until something forcibly calls their
attention to the subject, and then they are often
quite astonished to find the world so much better
than they had supposed it to be, and that men and
women, however coarse and low, or vicious and degraded, have yet a portion of the same divinity in
their souls which they themselves have inherited.
They discover that the vices and follies of these
individuals are but the outward garments placed
upon them by circumstances, and, as they get at
the inner man, they are surprised at the world of
virtues and kind feelings that lie hidden there, and
are only waiting for the fitting time and opportunity
to give their outward manifestations. We would like
to take some of these persons who are just awaking
to the Rosine House, upon the entrance there of
some of the unfortunates who have fallen among
thieves, and have been stripped and bruised, and




PREFACE.                  V
they would note in the sacrifice the inmates are
willing to make, to add to the comforts of the
stranger, that the true humanity is still living
within them, and (we believe) may also be found in
the hearts of the very thieves who stripped them.
We have been associating more than seven years
with thieves, and vagabonds, and drunkards, and
degraded women, and among them all we have
found very few who have not manifested, amid their
errors and follies, that there was still a divine principle and a consciousness of duty at times operating
upon their minds, which only needed congenial circumstances to develope them. And this is one of
the reasons why we want to send our little book
into the world, that we may reach the unbelievers
ofhe universality of the divinity in man, and may
give them our experience, and instil into them our
faith, that, as we begome purified, we shall attract
and develope the good that is in others, and, as we
embrace opportunities to do them good, we elevate
ourselves and become more capable of extended
usefulness, and, consequently, of enjoying the increased happiness that springs from the devotion of
our means and faculties for the benefit of others.
Our Reports have been circulated from year to
year, and have gone as missionaries into many a
family, and have awakened an interest that asks to
have them gathered together, hoping that the collections of facts, and expressions of.sentiment
1*




vi               PREFACE.
founded on those facts, may stimulate our readers
to examine whether they have extended their
" walks of usefulness" into the highways and byways around them, and whether there may not be
something for them to do in the field where we have
been laboring.
In arranging our book, we felt the necessity of a
little variety, that our readers might not grow
weary of the sameness, and we have interspersed
sundry extracts from our note and letter book, on
various subjects-incidents of real life-expressing
our thoughts as they arose from time to time, and
facts literally true as we have narrated them. We
may appear egotistical in having to say "I" and
" we" so often, but we have not yet learned to tell
our story without using the pronouns, and facts so
occupy our thoughts and time, that we have neither
leisure nor inclination to portray fictions, nor enter
into imaginative speculations.




INTRODUCTION.
IN January, 1847, a company of ladies met in a
private parlor, to prepare a Petition to the Legislature of Pennsylvania for the Abolition of Capital
Punishment, and to make arrangements for calling
a public meeting of Ywomen, to consider the propriety of circulating the petition for signatures.
The public meeting was attended by about 500
women, many of whom were deeply interested in the
subject. An Address was read, and arrangements
entered into to obtain signatures to the petitions,
and a. committee appointed to have the charge of
sending them to the legislative body. Within six
weeks 1000 copies of the Address were circulated,
and 11,777 names appended to the petitions were
forwarded to Harrisburg, and presented by the different members.
The following poem to the Advocates of Capital
Punishment, was inserted in several newspapers,
and the efforts upon the subject only ceased at the
close of the sittings of the Legislature.




8           TO THE ADVOCATES OF
TO THE ADVOCATES OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.
What! would ye swing your Brother's form
High up in Heaven's free air,
And place the image of your God
A dangling victim there?
Who gave you pow'r to read his heart,
Or know how deep his guilt,
Or judge what provocation came
Ere blood by him was spilt?
Can ye retrace the length of years
Since he commenced this life,
And mark the coursing of events,
His wrongs, his woes, his strife?
His battles with untoward fate,
His blasted hopes and schemes,
His longings for the pure and right,
His visionary dreams?
Perhaps, from life's first early dawn
111 nestled by his side,
His teachings may have been in wrong,
And sin his childhood's guide;
No mother's voice, perhaps, for him
Sent up an earnest pray'r;
No father at the mercy seat
Asked his acceptance there;
No sister twined around his heart
A soft and gentle spell,
Which made an atmosphere of love
Wherever he might dwell;
Virtue, perhaps, to him was known
But as an empty name,
And truth, and justice, but the guise
Of cowardice and shame;
Religion's winning, earnest tones
May ne'er within his soul




CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.                  9
Have spread their influence divine,
To purify the wholeThen, would ye swing your Brother's form
High up in Heaven's free air,
And place the image of your God
A dying victim there?
With all his sins upon his head
Before his destined hour;
Is yours the fiat of his days,
Yours the avenging pow'r?
Did not that Eye that saw his deed
Take note when it was done,
And read the thought that caused the act
Ere yet it was begun?
And could He not, with vengeance swift,
Have laid the culprit low,
If, in His wisdom, He had seen
It meet to deal the blow?
Think you His hand less strong than yours?
Are you more just, more wise,
That ye with daring hands unrobe
The soul that never dies?
He whom your God in mercy spared
No mercy meets in you,
And yet we pray-" Forgive us, Lord,
As we all others do."
Perhaps, no guilt your pris'ner knows,
Although for crime arraigned,
And proofs may cluster thickly round
By circumstance maintained;
He may be innocent, and stand
Before his Maker's sight
A spotless one, more pure than you,
Who think you act the right



10         TO THE ADVOCATES OF
And can ye give him life again,
Or mete him right for wrong,
If future time should prove the guilt
May somewhere else belong?
Then, dare ye swing your Brother's form
High up in Heaven's free air,
When time may tell, an innocent
Has been suspended there?
Suppose he did it-and suppose
Your priests around him placed,
Teaching, repentance may atone,
And sinners may be gracedSuppose he does repent, and lies
Washed clean before the throne,
Becomes a saint, and purified,
And Heaven he feels his own;
With anxious zeal his spirit craves
To fill life's little span
With calling all to turn and see
God's love to guilty man.
And who, than he, once sunk in sin,
Can more that love portray?
Who preach more truly-Sinners, turn,
Crime may be washed away!
Then, could ye hang that saint redeemed
High up in Heaven's free air?
Is earth so full of righteous ones
That ye have some to spare?
And where your Father mercy showed
Can ye no mercy show?
Have ye ne'er sinned, that ye must thus
Deal the avenging blow?
But, if repentance should not come
Before his hour of doom,
If, unregenerate you should send
Your Brother to the tomb,




CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.                 11
Think you that ye will guiltless stand
Before your Father's eye?
Did ye not murder when ye said
Your prisoner should die?
Or, are your prison-houses full?
Have ye no room for one?
Is bread so scant ye cannot feed
Till life's short course is run?
Have ye not bolts and bars enough
To hold the victim fast,
When burglars with their thousand wiles
Are there securely cast?
And are ye sure, no changing fate
May give to you his place?
Are ye so sanctified in good
Ye cannot fall from grace?
Can no temptation have the pow'r
To urge the hasty blow?
Have ye so conquered evil thoughts
That sin no more ye know?
Or, may not circumstances charge
Your innocence with crime?
Full oft we know it has been thus
From immemorial time.
Then, by the danger all must share
That his may be our lot,
By all the bonds of human kind
Aid to wipe out this blot!
Cease not from striving, till our law
Is clear from bloody stain,
And reformation,-not revenge,In principle sustain!
At the last meeting of the committee, one of the
ladies mentioned a subject that had been resting
upon her mind, to which she desired to call their
attention.  It was the formation of a society to




12               ADDRESS.
open a house for the reformation, employment,
and instruction of females, who had led immoral
lives. The subject at once arrested the attention
of the ladies, and feelings of sympathy were expressed, and a willingness to unite and give their
aid in the prosecution of the undertaking. Within
a few days afterwards, the proposition to form such
an association was laid before the members of the
Dorcas Society of Friends, of Cherry Street Meeting, and also the Vaughan Sewing Circle, at Mr.
Furness's church. A general interest was expressed,
and several ladies gave their names as members, if
such a society should be formed. Some gentlemen
were also called upon, who expressed their approval
of the effort, and eight hundred dollars were subscribed.
Notices were then published, inviting women of
all denominations to attend a Meeting in the Museum Building, to consider the subject and prepare
for the formation of such a society. A large meeting of women convened in accordance with this
invitation, on the afternoon of March 20th, 1847.
Sarah Peter was called to the chair, and Lydia
Gillingham and Elizabeth Townsend were appointed secretaries.
The following address was read:
ADDRESS.
In preparing an address for a meeting like this,
for the purpose of forming an association to endeavor to rescue a portion of our female community




ADDRESS.                 13
from a life of shame and misery, we are impressed
with the great responsibilities of the undertaking,
and our minds would naturally shrink from engaging in it, were it not that we remember that they
are our sisters. We may turn our backs upon
them, we may withdraw (as the most of us have
ever done) our sympathies, our kindness from
them; we may cast upon them the cold look of
scorn; we may give them the words of reproach
and condemnation-but they are yet our sisters;
and ought we not to endeavor to inquire in what
respects do they differ from us? Can we suppose
they are another class by nature? Were they not
formed by Providence with as kind, as gentle feelings as ourselves? Were they not endowed with
the same physical and mental organization as
the brightest and best amongst us?  Do not the
springs of love and affection gush forth as freely
from their hearts as from dir own? Are they not
as susceptible of as high moral and intellectual
cultivation? and are they not capable of the same
desires for a higher and better life? Are we prepared to reply to these questions? Shall it be
negatively or affirmatively?  If our answer may
be in the negative, can we then condemn our less
favored sisters, and cast them from us? Have
they not an increased demand upon our kindness,
our forbearance, our sympathies? Ought not the
strong ever to protect the weak, and guard them
with every care and precaution that the higher,
stronger, purer mind can suggest? But, if we
cannot adopt this view, if we do not believe that
the beneficent Creator has bestowed upon them
mental or physical disabilities to follow the path
of right, to live the true life, does it not lead us
2




14                ADDRESS.
into other investigations, and cause us to desire to
trace the evil to its source? to fathom the deep
mysteries that have shrouded so large a portion
of our population in unutterable, indescribable
misery?
We are told there are six thousand women in
our city, who are leading lives of shame and crime,
and yet we have been sleeping calmly and quietly
in the midst of these scenes of horror; or, when
the knowledge of some of these circumstances have
been forced upon us, we have shrunk from them
with disgust-but where is the hand that has been
stretched forth to stay the evil, to remove the
plague spot from our community? Can we come
up, with clear consciences, to this tribunal? Can
we say, we did all that we could? Do we not feel
that, in some degree, we are all of us concerned in
the guilt of our sisters? We know the majority of
those who are thus liviffg in violation of the laws
of God and man, are of what are considered the
lower classes of society, those whom too many of
us are in the constant habit of oppressing. At
this charge, do we not instinctively feel the glow
of indignation? and is not the denial ready to
spring from our lips? But let us examine into
this matter! We are aware of the small reward
female labor receives under usual circumstances,
and the temptations consequent upon this into
which young women are thrown; while too many
of them have neither moral nor religious training
to imbue them with a principle to withstand the
inducements of a life of greater apparent ease, and
more enlarged pecuniary acquisitions. With this
knowledge, which we have received in various
ways, can we bring forward any efforts, any at



ADDRESS.                 15
tempts on pur part to remedy.the evil? Have we
labored, in the families of this class, to implant a
proper principle in the minds of either parents or
children? have we sought to give to women's labor
the true compensation? or, are we and ours enjoying what ought to have been the meed of their
honest industry? These are important questions;
and, as we can answer them, will be the reward of
our consciences. There is another point on which
we ought to reflect with deep earnestness. Young
girls have been placed in our families. Have we
endeavored to give them the same moral and
religious training as our own daughters? Have
we clothed them in the garment of virtue, and
made them perceive it was beautiful? Others, of
more advanced age, have dwelt with us! have we
treated them with forbearance, kindness, and sympathy, and sought to reconcile them to their lot of
labor, by removing, as much as possible, the barrier of caste, that too often separates the employer
and the employed? or have we, by our coldness
and haughtiness, endeavored to impress them with
the idea, that there was a marked line between us;
and, by our conduct, wounded spirits, perhaps, as
proud as our own, and urged them to abandon our
firesides for the greater equality in a home of vice?
and, when our sister (owing, perhaps, to our treatment) has sought to escape from what she felt to
be the tyranny of wealth, and yielded tb temptation, what have been our efforts to reclaim her?
Have we gone to her wretched habitation, and
sought to win her back to virtue?   Have we
offered her a happier home, and told her we had
wronged her, and perhaps prompted her to err?
have we opened to her the avenues by which she




16               ADDRESS.
might regain a degree of respectability, and consulted her taste and feelings in the occupation we
offered her? Have we compared her fate with
ours, and owned that, under the circumstances in
which she had been placed, we, too, might have
fallen? These are all considerations which are
necessary to fit.us for the work of this day, and
there are many others of vast importance connected with the subject, but our time is too limited
to enlarge more fully upon the causes that tempt
to crime. We must now turn to the remedy,
hoping that our future conduct may atone, in a
degree, for the omissions and commissions of the
past.
Some of us have been impressed for a long period
with the necessity of an effort in this cause, but the
prejudices of society have been so powerful, that
woman has not dared to step forward to snatch her
erring sister from a life of crime, and endeavor to
reclaim her and sustain her, kindly and lovingly,
through the paths of honest toil to noble independence. To this work have we now come, and we
propose to you to form an Association, which may,
under right influences, lead to the happiest consequences. We ask you to assist in this labor of
love-to join us in the endeavor to instruct and
employ these wanderers, and show them the pleasantness of the paths of virtue-to aid us in introducing them into a new life, and sustaining them
in it by the moral and religious attractions we may
cast around them. We feel the importance of the
movement. We know there are great responsibilities attending it-but we believe, as we seek to
walk rightly in the path of duty, and ask for wisdom from above, to govern and guide our actions,




ADDRESS.                 17
we shall triumph over the difficulties that may surround us, and enjoy a consciousness that our efforts
have not been in vain.
Many of us have been led to inquire, as we have
met the poor degraded victims of vice, who have
passed us in our walks, can nothing be done for
them? With some of us, this has been the oft-recurring question. We have looked around us in
vain-and when we would have spoken to them of
reformation, reproved them for their continuance
in their sadly erring course, and pointed them to a
path of propriety and virtue, our lips have been
closed; for we have known there was no suitable
home that could offer them the sympathies and
genial influences which their circumstances demanded.
For some years past there has been an institution
in operation (founded and conducted by benevolent
persons, who saw the necessity of an effort to provide a shelter for those who desired to reform),
which has given a home to many for a period, and
some have been reclaimed-but, in consequence of
being under the superintendence of men, its labors
have been in a degree inefficient, and the reformation of this class has been considered almost as a
hopeless effort; but we believe, that with woman's
sympathy, woman's guiding care, her quick perceptions of the necessities of woman's nature, a regenerating influence may be brought into operation,
which may show to the world that even the poor
degraded prostitute is not irreclaimable.
We believe that asylum has done much good, and
the Directors of it have labored faithfully to promote what they considered the best interest of the
inmates; but to us it appears, that an institution,
2*




18               ADDRESS.
conducted upon a different plan, will more effectually promote the desirable object of restoring such
individuals to usefulness and respectability. With
those concerned in this asylum, we desire to preserve the best feelings-there is a large field of
labor for each of us. To the idle or to the sick we
cannot offer a home; but to the industrious and
energetic we hope to open the avenues to a useful,
independent life, while we shall endeavor to cast
around moral and religious influences, which may
sustain them in their upward and onward career.
With these views, we lay before you an outline
of our plan; but the experience which time must
bring can alone fill up the more minute details.
We propose to you to form an Association-the
objects of which shall be, the reformation, employment, and instruction of females who have wandered from the paths of virtue, and who are desirous to return to respectability and usefulness.
We have, at.this time, an opportunity of obtaining a house, which is considered in a suitable situation, and as conveniently arranged as any building
could possibly be, that was not built especially for
the purpose. The price at which it is offered is
one that is believed by gentlemen, who are competent to judge of its value, to be such as to warrant
a belief, that if at a future time there should be a
desire to dispose of it, there would be no loss sustained upon the property. The front room of the
building can, without much expense, be altered into
a store, which will greatly assist us in our designs,
as we propose to make it a means of convenience,
and believe it would be one of profit to the institution. There are fourteen rooms in the house, all
having a good light and cheerful appearance, suita



ADDRESS.                 19
able for work rooms and chambers. It has only
been built six years-the front building is four
stories high and the back three, making four rooms
on a floor in the three lower stories. The store
will be sufficiently large; and, having a parlor,
dining-room, and kitchen on a level, it will be exceedingly convenient. Thirty women may be comfortably accommodated in it without using three
fine rooms on the second floor, which should be appropriated to the business department.
Having thus described the house, we will lay
before you our idea of the manner in which it may
be suitably and profitably occupied. We propose
to have a competent, discreet woman as housekeeper, and well qualified teachers of the trades of
tailoring, mantua-making, straw-work, and other
pleasant and profitable employments, as the family
may increase, and the managers consider it can be
done with propriety.
The girls, upon entering the institution, should
be permitted to choose the trade they may prefer,
of those in operation in the house, and be considered as apprentices until they shall be so far
perfected as to be able to work without further instruction, during which time they should take their
turns in performing the cooking, washing, and
household duties, with which branches we consider
it is absolutely necessary that every woman should
be familiar. As soon as they become proficients in
the trades they have chosen they shall be considered as boarders in the family, and a regular
debtor and credit account be kept between each
individual and the institution; they being credited
with the amount received for the work they have
accomplished, and a regular charge made of their




20                A D D DR E S So
board and other accommodations, at the price
which experience shall enable the managers to
decide may be consistent with the economy of the
establishment. This arrangement, we believe, will
be productive of much advantage, as there will be
a constant stimulant to exertion; and every individual must feel they are laboring for themselves,
and preparing a fund from their own earnings,
which, when they leave the establishment, shall
enable them to re-enter society under favorable
auspices, and assist in establishing them in a respectable station in life.
A suitable time each day should be devoted to
mental instruction-subject to whatever plan the
superintendents may find to harmonize in the best
manner with the interests of the inmates; and,
while the motto of the house shall be, " You shall
support yourselves honestly by the labor of your
own hands," the health, the comfort, and a proper
degree of leisure for recreation, must ever claim
the attention of the managers-but experience alone
can give judgment in regard to these arrangements,
and from season to season they must be subjected
to alterations.
It will be necessary to employ a person in the
store; but, by keeping a small assortment of trimmings, which may be a great accommodation to the
family as well as to the neighborhood, and also to
customers bringing work to the house, the expenses
of the woman who attends it may be paid, while at
the same time it may afford an opportunity for the
sale of any articles manufactured in the establishment; and this person be made. the medium of
communication between those who may call upon
business and the inmates, so as to prevent unneces



ADDRESS.                  21
sary exposure, or disturbance to the family. We
have also reason to believe, that many benevolent
young women, whose circumstances will prevent
them from assisting in the labor or management of
the house, will gladly spend some of their leisure
time in working at fancy articles for the benefit of
the concern, and will thus add their mites in the
cause of humanity. These articles may be disposed of in the store, and be a source of profit,
while the consciousness of a benevolent purpose
will increase the happiness of the donor.
Having thus given a general outline of our views,
we are sensible there are many details which may
be of great interest to ourselves, and to the objects
for whose benefit we propose these arrangements,
but which time and experience alone can develope.
Of our interest in this subject we need not speak.
Time, money, and labor must all be appropriated
in the enterprise, to insure its success; but we believe the consciousness of performing our duty will
animate us to exertion, and cheer our onward path,
and if what is now deemed an experiment should
be productive of the benefits at which we aim, the
reward of our efforts will be reaped in our own increased happiness, as well as by those who are the
objects of our care and solicitude. We have not
entered into this work lightly, or without reflection; but a strong consciousness of its great responsibilities induces us to seek the co-operation of
all those who feel that it is in the treasury of good
works we can alone find true riches. Already have
we met with those whose hearts responded at once
to our appeal upon this subject, and we are encouraged to believe that, if we enlist our own sympathies in this cause, and feel that we are the




22          FORMATION    OF THE
advocates of those who cannot, dare not speak for
themselves, we shall be heard with feelings of
interest by others, who will pour into our treasury
those gifts of which they are the almoners of
Heaven.
We are deeply impressed with the greatness of
our undertaking, and ardently desire that our
minds may be clothed with wisdom, that we may
be enabled to fulfil in this great work what we believe to be the designs of Providence.
An appeal was then made by the President on
behalf of those alluded to in the call for the meeting, and the proposition was adopted to form an
Association for the reformation, employment, and
instruction of females, whose habits and situation
have precluded them from the sympathies and
respect of the virtuous part of tlhe community.
Several ladies gave their views of the necessity of
such an institution, and statements were made of
some cases that had come under their knowledge,
of young women who had committed suicide, who
might probably have been saved had such a society
been in operation.
A Committee of five was appointed to prepare a
Constitution, viz.: Sarah Peter, Eliza Parker,
Susan Dorsey, Maria M. Davis, and Mira Townsend. Also a Committee of thirty, to collect subscriptions from persons whose feelings responded
to the efforts in this cause, and who might be willing to associate in this benevolent enterprise.
Women of all denominations were earnestly invited to attend a meeting, to be held March 25th,
(five days after).




ROSINE ASSOCIATION.             23
Pursuant to this notice, a large assembly of
women met at the appointed place, when a constitution was adopted, and twenty managers elected
for the ensuing year. There was considerable discussion in reference to the name to be given to the
Society, and a sketch was read of the life and labors
of Rosa Govona, an Italian girl, who had founded
several institutions in her own country for poor and
unfortunate girls, where they were taught to labor,
and qualified to earn a respectable living by the
labor of their own hands. An objection was made
to the adoption of any name that might be considered a term of reproach to those who might come
under the care of the Society; and the name Rosine
Association was preferred to any other title, as it
commemorated an excellent and virtuous woman,
whose whole life was devoted to benefit the poor
and unfortunate of her own sex.
The name Rosine Association was therefore
adopted.
The meeting adjourned to meet again on the 4th
of April. Since that period various public meetings have been held, at which the progress of the
Society in the prosecution of the objects for which
it was formed has been reported by the Managers.
PREAMBLE.
When we consider the present state of society,
the many instances that come to our knowledge of
deviations from the path of virtue and propriety, of
woman, losing first her self-respect, then becoming
indifferent to the opinion of others, casting off the




24               PREAMBLE.
restraints of decency and morality, and abandoning
herself to a life of crime and shame, we feel we are
called upon to inquire, why is it so? and also, can
no remedy be applied? We know they are questions of grave importance, and while we are led to
perceive that a deficient education, the want of
proper remuneration for services, and the neglect
of suitable maternal and sympathizing care on the
part of parents and others, in whose charge young
girls are placed, exposes them to temptation; we
also discover that the prejudices and habits of social
life are often the causes of woman falling into error,
and afterward yielding fatally to the despair, caused
by the influences around her; she feels she has
lost her caste; she can no more be received into
respectable society; the finger of scorn and the
word of reproach are now to be her portion, and in
her hopeless misery she abandons all that has been
dear to her, and becomes an alien to her friends,
and an outcast from the sympathies and charities
of the good and the virtuous. But we cannot suppose that, sunk as she may be in vice and degradation, she has lost all the finer, better feelings of
woman's nature;-we believe there are few such
instances. The customs and prejudices of society
have, after the first fatal step, accelerated her
downward course, and we, who are her sisters,
whose hands ought to be stretched forth to support
the fallen victim of error, have heartlessly abandoned her in her misery and guilt. But a better
day is before us! We believe that the lost may be
reclaimed; the fallen one may be restored to society
and usefulness; that we may say, as did our blessed
example, "Go, and sin no more!" we feel we may
cast around her elevating influences; we may
teach her to estimate herself properly; inspire her




CONSTITUTION.               25
with principles of integrity, industry, and independence; and, while we surround her with moral
advantages and religious instructions, which may
animate her to live a right life, we may awaken her
faculties to perceive the dignity of her nature, and
her duties as a responsible being to her Father, and
her Creator.
With these views we propose associating ourselves
together, that we may establish an Institution, for
the reformation, employment, and instruction of
females, whose habits and situations have precluded
them from the sympathies of the virtuous part of
the community.
CONSTITUTION.
To secure from vice and degradation, a class of
women who have forfeited their claim to the respect
of the virtuous,-to prepare and maintain for them
an asylum, which, byits system of religious instruction, shall elevate their moral nature,-to teach them
how to gain an honest living " by the work of their
own hands,"-and, eventually, to render them useful
members of the community-an association has been
formed, and denominated the Rosine Association of
Philadelphia, for the government of which the following Constitution is adopted.
ARTICLE I.
Every woman, on the payment of not less than
one dollar, annually, shall be admitted as a member
3




26            CONSTITUTION.
of this society; or, by paying the sum of twenty
dollars, shall be a member for life. Every person
may become an annual contributor.
ARTICLE II.
This Society shall meet on the first Fifth day
(Thursday) of the fourth month (April) each year,
at which meeting thirty members shall be competent to transact business. At this meeting there
shall be chosen twenty managers, in whom shall be
vested the whole concerns of the Society.
ARTICLE III.
The Managers (being duly notified by the officiating Secretary) shall meet within three days after
their election, and shall choose from among their
number a President, Vice-President, Secretary, and
Treasurer. They shall have power to make bylaws for their own government-to fill vacancies in
the board, and to call special meetings of the Society, whenever, in their judgment, it may be expedient. They shall make an annual report of their
proceedings.
ARTICLE IV.
Every alteration of this Constitution must be
proposed at a meeting preceding the one of its
adoption.
Managers: Sarah B. Corbit, Margaret Griscom, Rebecca S. Hart, Emily Taylor,4 Annis P.
Furness, Anna Williamson, Elizabeth Pugh, Eliza



REPORT, 1847.               27
beth Hunt, Sarah Tyndale, Anne Price, Harriet M.
Ogden, Eliza Parker, Ellen N. Baldwin, Maria M.
Davis, Susan H. Dorsey, Caroline Cowperthwaite,
Mira Townsend, Rachel S. Evans, Sarah Lloyd,
Elizabeth Hughes.
At a meeting of the Board of Managers held Fifth
month (May) 15, the following officers were appointed:
President, Sarah B. Corbit; Vice-President,
Elizabeth Pugh; Secretary, Sarah Lloyd; Treasurer, Mira Townsend.
REPORT OF THE BOARD OF MANAGERS.
November, 1847.
Since the formation of the Rosine Association
the Managers have been engaged in forwarding the
objects of the Society. The house alluded to in
the Address, read at that time, which it was proposed to purchase, has since been rented on a lease
for five years, with the privilege of buying it at that
period if it should then be considered desirable and
our funds should warrant it. We obtained possession of it in August, since which time we have had
a bath-room and out-kitchen built, shutters made
for the back buildings, a cooking range and warmair furnace inserted, and various alterations and
improvements added, to fit it for our purpose. In
making these alterations it was exceedingly gratifying to us to find that an interest upon the subject




28            REPORT, 1847.
pervaded all classes of our citizens. The lumber
merchants and carpenters, the brickmakers and
bricklayers, the plasterers, paperers, and painters,
have all aided in their different departments, so as
considerably to lessen our expenses in altering the
building; and a number of kind friends have contributed articles of furniture, which have enabled us
to get into operation at a comparatively small
amount of expenditure. But several of our rooms
are still unfurnished. We would therefore appeal
to the benevolent for aid, in money or goods, as may
best suit their convenience, so that we may establish
the institution on a permanent basis, and make a
home for the friendless, where the best feelings of
their nature may be cultivated, and habits and
sentiments acquired in harmony with the spirit of
Christianity.
We have now the names of 253 women as annual
subscribers. Many benevolent persons have contributed to our funds; but in starting an institution
of this kind, means are necessary, not only to commence operations, but to continue them, that a fair
trial may be made of the efficacy of a system that
proposes not only the reformation of the objects of
its care, but to qualify them, mentally, morally, and
physically, to maintain themselves in an honest and
respectable manner by their own labor. We must,
therefore, continue our appeal to those who are interested in good works, and who desire that an
attempt may be made to benefit the most depressed
and hopeless part of our community. We invite
every woman who loves the cause of virtue, and can
feel for the miseries and degradation of her unfortunate sisters, to become a member of our Association, and thus pledge her name and interests for the




REPORT, 1848.               29
support of correct principles and practices; and we
ask the sympathy and assistance of every man who
believes that moral and religious influences may
operate beneficially in the restoration of fallen
humanity, and who feels that he has a duty to perform for those who may truly be called the most
wretched of our population. Thousands of dollars
are given annually in this city to send missionaries
among the heathen of distant lands, while our own
heathen-those who are living without the knowledge or fear of God, without any definite idea of
their duties here, or hope of happiness hereafterare in our midst, deserted and neglected. Let us
then unite in this work, and by every means in our
power assist in the reformation and regeneration of
that unfortunate class, who, like the intemperate,
may be redeemed by kindly influences, and become
new beings.
We solicit your assistance, therefore, in funds, or
in goods of any description, which we can either
use or sell, and in giving employment to the family
in dressmaking and tailoring. Our institution must
be a House of Industry. Our motto is, " You shall
support yourself honestly by the labor of your own
hands."
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MANAGERS OF THE
ROSINE ASSOCIATION.
April, 1848.
A year has elapsed this day, since we met, and
agreed to unite together as a Society, to promote
by our efforts the cause of virtue, and prepare a
home and asylum for unfortunate females, who,
3*




30            REPORT, 1848.
having yielded to habits of licentiousness, had found
the ways of sin to bring shame, disease, poverty,
remorse, and unhappiness, and who might be induced to enter an institution where reformlation,
employment, and instruction should be combined in
such a manner that they would be convinced that a
right path is preferable to a wrong one, and a life
of virtue and industry produce more happiness than
a course of idleness, vice, and depravity. We met,
not to ask in the spirit of judgment why our sisters
had erred; not to cast upon them the term of reproach because they had deviated from propriety
and virtue; but to acknowledge that the customs of
society, the small remuneration for female labor,
and the frequent neglect of the proper cultivation
of the moral and religious sentiments of the youth
of both sexes, and of all classes, had produced in a
great degree the evil we lamented, and to endeavor,
as far as might be in our power, to apply a remedy.
We then associated ourselves together, hoping
the Divine blessing might rest upon our efforts,
and, being regularly organized; we assumed the
name of the Rosine Association, in honor of a poor
but estimable young woman, of the name of Rosa
Govona, who founded several establishments in
Italy, where the destitute and unfortunate of her
own sex were enabled to earn a decent and respectable living.
The Society being thus formed, considerable exertion was needed to collect funds to enable us to
get into operation. This required a great sacrifice
of time, labor, and feeling; but we have been
cheered on our way by the consciousness of the
rightfulness and importance of the great work we
had undertaken, and the sympathy and benevolence




REPORT, 1848.               31
which encouraged and assisted us. A house was
rented, repaired, and altered to suit our convenience.
Mechanics of various kinds gave us their aid, so as
considerably to lessen the expenses we should otherwise have incurred. It was opened in the early
part of October, 1847. We have now been six
months in operation, and feel that much has been
accomplished considering the apparent hopelessness
with which many viewed our enterprise, and the
working by faith alone of our members. We were
all inexperienced in the labor we had undertaken,
and every department seemed to claim able heads
and hands; but we believed in the righteousness of
our cause, and what we lacked in ability, we gave
in heartfelt devotion to it.
A suitable Matron, Tailoress, and Mantuamaker
were engaged, and a small store opened, hoping it
might be a source of profit and conveniences
Our Institution is yet in its infancy.  The
Managers themselves require a training to fit them
for their important duties; and the arrangements
of the family have been, and must be varied,
according to circumstances, and as experience determines their wisdom and necessity. When our
house was opened, we had in view the general outline presented in the address at our first meeting,
and we have endeavored to pursue the plan devised
there, only increasing our regulations as occasion
seemed to demand them.    Considerable exertion
was made to procure employment for the inmates,
that they might be instructed in the most important
and profitable branches of female labor; and, as
soon as the number in the house seemed to warrant
it, our school was commenced, and they have received instruction in orthography, reading, writing,




32            REPORT, 1848.
arithmetic, grammar, geography, and physiology.
These branches have been taught by our members,
and we have been highly gratified by the interest
that has been shown, both by teachers and scholars;
and also by the industry in the work-room. These
facts are very cheering, as they prove clearly to us
that an institution so conducted, must produce incalculable benefits, as the knowledge and habits of
industry acquired in the house must be productive
of advantage to every individual throughout their
whole lives. Owing to our inmates having been so
short a period employed at the trades they have
been learning, we have not had an opportunity of
testing the benefits to be derived from the stimulation of working for their own pecuniary advantage;
but we believe, as they increase in competency, and
profitable business flows into the house, we shall
find it a powerful assistant in adding to the. happiness of our pupils, and increasing their moral and
industrious propensities, by convincing them that
they can procure an honest and respectable living
by their own labor, and that the capacity for enjoyment and usefulness is much increased by added
knowledge. By the introduction of trades into the
house, we do not contemplate making all mantuamakers and tailoresses, but to give such as have the
capacity and inclination the opportunity, and to
qualify all to do the usual sewing in a family, in
addition to a knowledge of housework and cooking,
so that, when they leave the Institution, they may
be enabled to enter into a life of general usefulness
wherever they may be located.  We are fully
aware of the importance of making our work-room
as lucrative as possible, so as to assist in bearing
the expenses of the family; but we must remember




REPORT, 1848.               33
that the majority of those that come under our
care are ignorant, and unaccustomed to restraint
or application; that, in their former mode of life,
amusement was the great business, and excitement
the daily necessity. The change, therefore, must
be great, and we feel the importance, while we cultivate habits of industry, also to appoint intervals
of recreation, and introduce modes of amusement.
Battledoors and graces have been furnished, and
innocent cheerfulness encouraged. We desire, in
the round of business and instruction of their present life, the memories of the former one may be
dimmed and fade away, and better, brighter, and
happier images fill their minds, and banish the sad
past with its harrowing reminiscences. Nor have
we been unmindful of endeavoring to cultivate their
higher and holier feelings and sentiments.  The
Scriptures are read daily in the family; they are
encouraged to learn and sing hymns; and, as opportunity presents, the importance of striving to live in
the spirit of prayer, that they may be strengthened
and assisted in their desires to lead a better life, is
impressed upon them, and an endeavor made to
awaken feelings of gratitude towards Him who hath
opened a way for their deliverance from a course of
sin and misery, and given them an opportunity to
atone for the errors of the past, by the well-spent
present and future. We have also been sensible
that the best mode to banish evil or unpleasant
thoughts, is to present to the mind others that may
be instructive and amusing. We have, therefore,
been endeavoring to collect a library of suitable
books, in which we have been kindly assisted by
several contributors, and also by the Bible Associations, who have furnished Bibles and Testaments.




34            REPORT, 1848.
The Education Committee, on the afternoon of the
Sabbath, have Bible and other reading, and suitable
conversation with the family, endeavoring to make
the Sabbath school interesting and instructive.
Ministers, and other religious persons, who desire
to hold meetings in the house, are admitted upon
these occasions, by the invitation of the Managers,
or upon application to the Visiting Committee.
Our Board has been divided into four standing
committees: on the store, house, work, and education, and a fifth, alternating committee, composed
of one member of each, who have the general superintendence of the whole, and are denominated
visitors. By this arrangement, each member, by
being in turn a visitor, is interested, not only in her
own particular department, but in every one in the
Institution.
We have also had another committee appointed
to visit among the houses where the unfortunate
objects of our solicitude reside. The duties of this
committee have been important and painfully interesting. Many hours have been passed by them
in these sad abodes of heartless gaiety and unenjoyed revelry, and it is with pleasure they acknowledge the general kindness and respect with which
they have been received, and their mission understood and appreciated. During these visits, their
former impressions have been confirmed; that ignorance, the want of proper moral and religious culture, and wholesome restraints, have been the
fruitful causes of the demoralization of the young,
while to those more advanced in life, have been
added the low prices of woman's labor, and the
general unhappy influences arising from the example of the immoral, intemperate, and debased, in




REPORT, 1848.                35
some portions of our city. Indeed, as they have
pursued their mission in some sections, they have
felt that the whole moral atmosphere was corrupted,
and have been led to wonder how any could escape
contamination, of either sex, while they breathed
the malaria that issued all around them from the
dram shops, and the varied sinks of infamy that are
clustered together. The committee have visited in
one square, thirteen houses; in another neighborhood, in half a square, nine houses; and, within a
short distance, in a block of one quarter of a square,
fourteen houses; in all of which, young, unfortunate and degraded females reside, and in the most
of them the bottle, with its poisonous draught, is
the daily companion, constantly sinking them
lower, and lower, by increasing their debasing
habits, until their short and sad career is closed in
the almshouse, or the prison-the victims of disease
and of every species of vice. While we speak thus
of these sad facts, we do not wish to convey the
idea that these miserable and wretched women are
more vicious or depraved than the men, who, in
many cases, wickedly allure them to a life of sin,
or are their companions during its generally brief
continuance, but the prejudices of society, which
have deprived woman of caste and respectability,
for the offence which has too often been lightly
visited upon man, has had the effect to paralyze
her energies, and make her a hopeless, reckless,
broken-hearted creature, living a life of deception,
assuming a levity that is foreign to her feelings,
and seeking associations that are utterly repugnant
to her nature. While thus we dwell upon these
painful circumstances, we have also to remember,
that those who are the visitors and supporters of




36            REPORT, 1848.
these houses and their inmates, are many of them
the husbands, the fathers, the brothers, and the
sons of the virtuous women of our community, and
that in these abodes of vice, surrounded by enticements of every kind, the youthful mind is corrupted
by the exhilarating glass, the exciting game of
cards, the profuse expenditure of money, and the
cultivation of habits which produce an utter laxity
of morals, and lead to dishonesty, disgrace, disease,
domestic infelicity, and spiritual death. Do not
these reflections call us to self-examination.? Have
we performed the duties incumbent upon us, by
condemning and shunning the known libertine, by
candidly warning and cautioning those within our
influence, and endeavoring, by our own pure and
gentle spirits, to keep them in the magic circle of
home, and its holy elevating sympathies and affections? Have we, who are mothers, endeavored to
instil those true and correct principles into the
minds of our children that would lead them to reflect upon their social and religious duties, their
responsibilities to their fellow beings, and to their
Creator, and to consider the violation of the seventh
commandment a species of moral insanity, which is
sure to bring in itp train a depreciation of character,
health and happiness, and of that self respect which
is the cherished companion of the virtuous, and
entitles them to that most glorious promise that was
given upon the Mount, "Blessed are the pure in
heart, for they shall see God."
But we hope a new era is dawning in the moral
world; and the existence of this Society, claiming
three hundred and forty-six members within one
year from its formation, is a cheering token that
"there is a good time coming."  The spirit of in



REPORT, 1848.               37
quiry is abroad, and woman's heart, with all her
sympathies, is awaking, and as she meets the poor
degraded ones in the street, decked with their
sadly gained finery, or hears the story of deception, vice, and woe that has made them what they
are, the question is asked-what can we do? This
Society gives the answer. We have associated for
the reformation, employment, and instruction of
these. We have openly avowed that we will be the
friends of the erring and the unfortunate of our own
sex; that we will give them our sympathy, to win
them from evil; our assistance, to show them they
can support themselves honestly and respectably;
our encouragement, that they too may feel that the
day of progress is come, and that they may be sensible of the elevating influences of that spirit, that,
while it says, "Daughter, sin no more," will add,
Let us go up to the house of the Lord together.
Since the organization of the Society we have
had twenty-five individuals under the care of the
managers, but they have not all been inmates of
the house. Of these, seven are now situated in
respectable families; four have been restored to
their parents; and one, through the influence of
one of the Board, has been married to the person
who induced her to err. Two were sent to the
Almshouse after a few days' residence, not being
in a state of health to be benefited by this institution. One was discharged, not being considered a
hopeful case. Two left voluntarily. There are
now eight in the house learning trades, receiving
an education, and becoming acquainted with cooking, house-work, and the different branches of the
usual employments of women. Of those still under
our care, we must express our approbation of their
4




38            REPORT, 1848.
general conduct. They appear desirous to gain
instruction in the different departments of business
knowledge; and we have reason to believe, they
feel they have a happy home; and some of them
have been led to desire a progress in better things,
and to inquire, "What can I do to be saved?"
At our last public meeting it was stated, that
some cases had come under the notice of the managers, of women who had children, and who felt they
must continue in an evil course of life to gain a
support for them. There were many interesting remarks upon the subject, and a statement was made
of some facts, which induced the Society to pass
the following resolution:
Resolved, That the managers of the Rosine
Association are empowered to make what arrangements they think necessary in each particular case
that presents, and make suitable provision for the
children of such mothers as they consider will be
hopeful members of the Rosine family; such provision to be discontinued as soon as the mother can
support it or them by her own efforts, or upon her
leaving the house.
A proposition was then made to start a fund, to
be called the Children's Fund; which, being approved, fourteen dollars sixty-seven cents were
contributed. One child, with its mother, has been
under care, to the support of which part of the
sum subscribed has been appropriated.
A collecting Committee was also appointed, to
invite women to become members of the Association, and to call upon persons generally, to give
them an opportunity to contribute to our funds.
Since that period we have applied to the Legislature for an Act of Incorporation, which we have




REPORT, 1848.               39
reason to believe will be granted. The Society
will then be qualified to hold property for the
benefit of such objects as may be embraced in the
charter.
This will afford an opportunity to the benevolent
to make an investment, that must ever be satisfactory to themselves; as the interest arising from it
will not only be received in time, but continue
throughout eternity. It is very desirable that the
Institution may be placed on a permanent basis,
and that we may be enabled to complete the purchase of the house, upon which we hold a mortgage
of thirteen hundred dollars.
Neither our store nor work-room has been as
profitable as we could desire; but we hope our
members and friends will assist us, by the purchase of goods in the one, and bringing their tailoring, mantua-making, and plain sewing to the
other, and also inducing their friends and domestics to bring their custom to the establishment.
Considerable sewing has been done to furnish
the house, and also to prepare clothing for the inmates, several of whom have been almost entirely
destitute of suitable apparel. The number of articles made for the use of the house, comprising bedding, toweling, &c., is two hundred and thirty-nine.
Garments for the inmates, seventy-seven.  For
customers, one hundred and eighty-six.
The year of our service, as managers, has now
closed, and we resign our commission to the Society with deep and varied feelings. We have been
treading in a new path-one that has awakened
powerful emotions within us. We have constantly
felt the necessity of a higher wisdom than our own
to guide us, that we might be qualified to judge




40             REPORT, 1848.
rightly what might be for the real advantage of the
immortal souls intrusted to our care. In the spirit
of prayer we have earnestly desired to be gifted
with wisdom, and to be endowed with that loving
charity that might fit us properly for our work;
and we would ask for our successors, that they
may have increased ability to forward the purposes
and intentions of this Society, that of rescuing the
vicious, the miserable, and the degraded female
from a life of sin and shame, placing her in a situation where she may become useful, respectable,
and happy here, and assist, as far as possible, in
aiding to prepare her for that better world, where
she may be a redeemed angel in the presence of
her Father forever.
But while our feelings have been deeply interested for those who have deviated from a virtuous
course of life, we have not forgotten they were
once innocent, and that many of them might have
been preserved in that purity, had better, happier
influences been around them in their more youthful
days. The past we cannot repair-but we can alleviate the sufferings of the future; and we would
solemnly appeal to those who have the charge of
young immortal beings to remember, that if more
care had been exercised in the faithful, moral, and
religious training of our youth, there would be less
occasion for this Society. We desire, also, to call
the attention of our members, and others, to the
necessity there is of a suitable home being provided
for young friendless and destitute females, many
of whom are cast upon the world without suitable
guardians or protectors, and subjected to all the
temptations incident to such a situation. Within
the last year the Female Moral Reform Society,




TREASURER'S REPORT.               41
in New York, has opened a house, where friendless and destitute women and children are received,
maintained, and instructed, until suitable homes
are provided for them. Such an institution is
needed in this city; and we hope an increase in
our funds may enable us, at no very distant day,
to have a branch under the care of our Society
that may give a suitable asylum to such, until they
may be qualified for usefulness, and hearts prepared to adopt them into a true and happy home.
We wish not only to save the lost, but to preserve
the innocent.
In concluding our report we may add, that we
consider we have cause to feel encouraged in the
important work into which we have entered. We
are convinced that great good may be accomplished, and we believe the Divine blessing has
rested upon our labors, while we hope the schooling we have had may help to make us both wiser
and better.
TREASURER'S        REPORT.
Mira Townsend, Treasurer, in account with Rosine Association.
Fourth Month, 1st, 1848.
DR.
To amount of cash received from sundry persons, $4,970 38
"     "    Received from Work Committee for work done in the
house,  -   -   -   -     75 00
"    "    Received 6n account of Children's Fund, -  -   -     14 67
u"    "    Interest on Money loaned, -  81 00
$5,141 05
4*




42             LIST   OF   MEMBERS.
CR.
By amount paid salaries, rents, repairs, house expenses, &c.,-       -            $1,371 11
Loaned at interest, -  -    -    -   2,700 00
"     Invested in store,  -  -         -  1,000 00
"     Cash on hand,   -   --                 60 94
$5,141 05
LIST OF MEMBERS.
Abbot, Elizabeth  Brainard, C. C.    Churchman, Sarah
Abbott, Mrs.      Brainard, Mary     McCall, Elizabeth
Acton, Hannah     Barton, Catharine  Cavender, Eliz'th AI.
Agnew, Mrs. Jehu  Butcher, Mary      Collins, Mrs. T. B.
Agnew, Eliza Jane  Bradfield, E. W.  Collins, Mrs. Eliz'th
Adams, M. M.       Barry, Mary H.    Campion, Elizabeth
Bloomfield, Isabella Cameron, J. K.
Brindley, Mrs.    Baldwin, Ellen N.  Colliday, Mrs. S.
Bunting, Elizabeth  Boon, Sarah      Cox, Margaret
Bujac, Anne W.     Baker, Elizabeth  Creswell, Elizabeth
Boggs, Margaret                      Campion, Mrs. T.
Burkhart, Sarah    Cowperthwaite, C. Castner, Mrs. Sam'l
Bradford, Mrs. S.  Clarkson, Sarah   Carter, Sarah
Badger,Mrs. William Conway, Ann      Colket, Elizabeth
Barker, Sarah W.   Caron, Eliza A.
Boyd, Mrs.         Chandler, Caroline Davis, Maria M.
Barton, Susan R.   Campbell, Mary    Dorsey, Susan -I.
Bonsall, Mary M.   Cox, Lavinia      De France, Caroline
Bonsall, Naomi    Cotringer, Mary    Davis, Lydia C.
Brown, Hannah     Canby, Eliza       Davenport, Susanna
Badlum, Jane A.   Corbit, Sarah B.   Duane, Mrs. Wm.
Badlum, Sophia    Clark, Mrs.        Davis, Elizabeth MI.
Black, Rebecca     Crowley, Eliza C.  Dodge, Mrs.
Bedford, Louisa    Carter, Mrs. W; I.  Dunlap, Sarah
Brooks, Elizabeth  Cooper, Hannah
Bennett, Mrs. Jas. M. Crawford, Jane  Elder, Sarah
Buzby, Maria       Corbit, Emma      Evans, Rachel S.
Benner, Sarah      Clapier, Theresa  Ellis, Rebecca
Benner, Rebecca    Cheesborough, Sally Ellis, Margaret H.
Buckley, Eliza     Clendenin, Anne   Ellis, Hannah W.
Burleigh,GertrudeK. Copper, M. H.    Eckel, Mrs. M.




LIST   OF   MEMBERS.                 43
Evans, Mary Ann    Howell, Mary      Kelsey, Mary
Ellis, Martha R.   Hall, Mrs.        Kimber, Susan
Ellis, Mrs.        Harper, Eliza
Elliot, Eliza T.   Harding, Mrs.     Lewis, Sophia
Eddowes, Miss      Hazletine, Mrs. Ward Lang, Jane
Ewing, Miss        Haddock, Mrs. Dan'l Latimer, Eliza
Emory, Susan       Harding, Mrs.     Lloyd, Sarah
Hollingsworth, Miss Lye, Mrs.
Furness, Annis P.  Hildeburn, Sophia  Larcomb, Anna S.
Farnum, Mrs. B.    Hodge, Mrs. Dr.   Lincoln, Mrs.
Furness, Mrs. James Hunt, Elizabeth  Lord, Mrs. G.
Fussell, Maria D.  Hastings, Mary M. Lex, A. F.
Fisher, Mrs. John  Hagar, Mary       Lewis, Sidney Ann
Ferris, Bridget   Harkness, Esther   Lapsley, Mrs. David
French, Elizabeth B. Hayhurst, Esther  Lownes, Mary P.
Foster, Mrs.       Hunt, Elizabeth   Lovering, Ann C.
Franklin, Mary     Harvey, Mrs. J. G. Lyman, Mrs. Charles
Fry, Anna          Heisse, Mrs. R.   Denning, Mrs. F.
Field, Rachel      Hallowell, A. P.  Lamborn, Anne
Hinchman, Anna W. Lewis, Mary D.
Griscom, Marg't A. Hathaway, Mrs.    Lea, Susan M.
Grim, Rebecca C.   Hough, H.         Longstreth, Mrs. J.
Green, Lydia E.    Hallowell, Han'h P. Lang, Anna
Gillingham, MaryK. Howe, Mrs.
Gilpin, Anna       Hallowell, Ther'sa K. Massey, Anna
Gillingham,Sarah K. Hill, Elizabeth  Miller, Hannah
Gillingham, Lydia                    Mott, Lucretia
Griffith, Jane S.  Ingham, Florence  Murphy, Lydia A.
Goodwin, Phebe                       Mitchell, Mrs. James
Graeff, Miss      Johnson, Mrs. R.   Mitchell, E. V.
Goeller, Margaret  Johnson, Nancy M. Milligan, Julia
Gratz, Rebecca    Jackson, Jennette  Morrison, Anna
Green, Sarah      Jackson, Rachel    Miller, Mrs. John
Guest, Rebecca    Jordon, Jane       McClellan, Mrs. S.
Grew, Mary        Jenkins, Hannah J. McMurtrie, Mrs. Dr.
Justice, Huldah    McConnell, Mary
Hart, Rebecca S.  Jenkins, Elizabeth  Moore, Mrs. B. H.
Heiskill, Frances  Jones, Ella       Macey, Jane
Hanson, Ellen     Jeanes, Mary       McCall, Elizabeth
Hanson,Gulielma M. Johnson, Mercy    Morrison, Caroline
Hunn, Elizabeth A. Johns, Hannah     Miles, Catharine C.
Hancock, Esther                      Mott, Mary Anna P.
Horton, Maria W.   Kaley,MaryRowland Matthews, Ann
Hewlings, Sarah    Kroll, Deborah Ann McCutcheon, Mrs. C.
Hance, Sarah J.    Kay, Mrs. Elizabeth Maris, Louisa
Halloway, Emeline Kirkland, Mrs.     Milliette, Mary




44             LIST   OF   MEMBERS.
Mercer, Mary D.    Robinson, Mrs.D M. Turner, Mrs. Fred'k
Martin, Susan      Ruther, Mrs. C. J. Turner, Mrs. Wm.
McIlhenny, Eliza W. Rossiter, Margaret Tete, Mrs.
Morris, Catharine  Ruddick, Mrs.     Taylor, Rebecca
Morris, Catharine W. Rouzee, Mary E.  Tyson, Martha H.
Rowland, Elizabeth Town, Mrs. John
Neidhardt, Isabella Rankin, Jane     Thackara, Mrs. S. F.
Needles, Anne M.   Riehle, C.        Thatcher, M.
Norris, Dolly                        Tomlin, Abigail
North, Miss        Stratton, Caroline  Trotter, Eliza H.
Newall, Mrs. T. A. Sherman, Agnes G. Twitchel, Emily
Nancrede, Mrs. Dr. Smith, Ann        Tyson, Mary J.
Newbold, Emma      Smith, Sarah W.   Tyler, Mrs. G. F.
Sully, Sally      Townsend Emily S.
Ogden, Harriet     Sexton, Maria     Townsend, Elizabeth
Ogden, Prudence    Smith, Mrs.       Turner, Abbey
Skillman, Ura     Twaddell, Mrs. E.
Pugh, Elizabeth    Sill, Mrs. Joseph
Parker, Eliza      Smyth, Elizabeth  Wood, Susan
Palmer, Sarah      Slade, Mrs.       Williamson, Anna
Pancoast, Tacy R.  Smith, Miss       Williamson, Mary
Paxson, Deborah    Stone, Anna       Walborn, Ellen
Pratt, Elizabeth   Sleeper, Edith    Webb, Maria
Porter, Elizabeth D. Singer, Mrs. John  Webb, Sarah J.
Pugh, Sarah        Smith, Mrs. W. R. Wharton, Anne
Perot, Elizabeth  Spearing, Mary Ann Wood, Mrs. G. A.
Plumley, Rebecca   Saunders, Elizabeth White, Lydia
Paul, Elizabeth    Sleeper, Mary     Williams, MarthaP.
Porter, Emma       Shapley Mrs.      Wager, Mrs. P.
Pierce, Mrs. Charles Somers, Eliza   Wescott, Mrs.
Perot, Caroline R.                   Worrall, Elizabeth
Paleske, Susanna   Townsend, Mira    Wharton, Hannah
Pepper, Sarah B.   Townsend, Ann A. Wirt, Mrs. Wm.
Peal, Mrs.Rembr'ndt Tyndale, Sarah   Woodruff, Mrs.
Peters, Mary B.   Taylor, Emily      Wyeth, Mrs. S. D.
Peters, Miss S.    Townsend, Hannah, Ward, Mary Ann
Phillips, Ellen     Jr.,             Wilson, Clarissa S.
Petit, Mrs. Dr.    Townsend,Beulah P. Wallace, Margaretta
Parker, Elizabeth  Troth, Henrietta  Williams, Sarah T.
Price, Anne       Thompson, Adeline Winslow, Emily
Townsend, Elizabeth Wister, Elizabeth
Robertson, Mrs. A. Turner, Susan     Wood, Mary F.
Rand, Mrs.         Thorne, Mary S.   Webb, Harriet
Reeseford, Mary   Todhunter,Mrs.Wm.
Rogers, Mrs. Wm.  Towne,Mrs.J. Henry Yocum, Susanna
Rogers, Mrs. Evans Tiers, Mrs. Frank




NAMES OF CONTRIBUTORS.                    45
NAMES OF CONTRIBUTORS IN MONEY, GOODS, OR
LABOR.
Alsop, A. E.      Biddle, Anna       Berens, Dr. B.
Adams, Samuel C. Blakiston &Wallace Brown, Samuel
Addicks, Vandusen Brown, J. D.
& Smith         Branson, Samuel
Alexander, Hugh   Barnet,  Nesbit & Corbit, Joseph
Archer, Ellis S.     Garretson       Corbit, Henry C.
Abbott, Redmond   Bringhurst, John   Clark, Jane
Amanderson, Jr.    Baker, Henry      Cope, Thomas P.
Ashton, John, Jr.  Biddle, W. & R.   Cuthbert & Wetherill
Anspach, Bro. & Co. Biddle, Clement  Chur, A. Theodore
Allison, David A.  Buck & Morgan     Conrad, Matthew
Adamson & Heins    Busch,            Carrigan, Jacob
Anderson, Mrs.W.V. Bennett, Altemus L. Claghorn, John W.
Ashurst, Richard   Baker, Elizabeth  Cassin, John
Bartis, --         Cattell,Alexander G.
Brown, Joseph D.  Burton, Isaac      Collins, Wm. M.
Barton, Susan R.   Brunner, M.       Campbell, Alex. H.
Brady, P.         Bitting, Thos. R.  Cooper, Hiram T.
Brown, David S.    Bailey, J.        Collins, Joseph
Barclay, Mrs. Andw. Baggs, James B.  Clause & Griffith
Brown, Washington Bailey, David      Cluley, William
Budd, Henry        Barber, Edward    Clark, Jacob W.
Baldwin, Thomas    Barger, William   Chapman, William
Baldwin, M. W.     Bley,-            Collins & Robinson
Brock, John        Bowers, H. A.     Campion, Thomas
Barker, J. R.     Burton & Finn      Cowpland, Joshua
Boswell, James I.  Burton, Henry A.  Carter, C. J. H.
Boyd, William S.   Beans, Mary       Cooper, Hannah
Barton, Isaac      Brand, Albert C.  Chandler, Jos. R.
Bullock, Martha    Brown, Hannah     Clark & Cunningham
Burr, Joseph       Bankson,-         Cole, Edward
Burling, B. S.     Bryan, George S.  Cummings & Brodie,
Bolden, George     Bain, Mrs. M.     Cummings, -
Barron, George     Bryan, Ellen      Canby, Caleb
Bailey, Lydia R.  Bland, Samuel      Clay, George
Badger Mrs.        Bradford, Mrs.Saml. Cox, Gideon
Brown, Ann T.     Belrose & Faye     Clark, -
Bacon & Dilks     Bowen, B. B.       Clothier, Caleb
Bockius, J.       Butler, Thomas     Chandler, Marine
Bibighaus, -      Bowdle, Tristram   Campbell, Mary
Bowlby, —          Bryan, C.         Connor, Mrs.




46        NAMES OF CONTRIBUTORS.
Campbell, Mrs.     Ellis, R.          Gilpin, Mrs. Charles
Conrow, Nathan H. Elliot, Hugh        Groves & Brother
Cavender, John H. Evans, Oliver       Gaskill, Aaron W.
Caufman & Wolf     Eyre & Landell     Golder, Robert
Campbell & Pharo                      Gibbs, Mrs.
Davis, Edward Me   Farnum, Henry     Gladdings, John
Davis, Edwardnum, Mrs. B             Gardiner, Dr.
Davis, Isaac R.    Fae, thro & CGillingham, Deborah
Davis, Samuel N.   Fales, Lathrop & Co. Gilingham, Deborah
Furness, James T. Griscom, Dr. John
Derbyshire, A. I.  Felton    Zimmer- Gibson, John
Dodson, Harriet    Felton            Goodwin, P.
Dallett, E.            ng            Grum   Mrs.
Dickson & Brother  Farr, John C.      G  d1 Jsh A
Davis, Samuel  Freeman, James A. Gendell, John A.
Davis, Samuel H.
Dreby, Christian    lemming, Geo. M.
Dallam, J.W.       Fe,.        Hallowell,Hannah P.
Daniels & Smith    Fr, W    hius  Hartley & Knight
Dickinson, Sally N. French & Richards Heald, Bucknor, &
Dixon, Caleb I.           ila           Co.
Fryer, William
Donnelly, Jo       F, Thomas       Hankins, Wm. H.
Dyott, Dr.         Fl,                Hillborn, Cyrus
Dowler, Jacob      Fell,              Hudson, Thomas
Dorsey, William    Furniss, Brindly & Hinchman, AnnaW.
Ash              Hinchman, Anna W.
Dreby, Christian         h            Hart, A.
Dorigo, F.         Faust & Winebren- Howell, Joseph
De Bequier, Miss   F   t &. Hunt, Uriah
Dutton, Mrs.        ricke H. & G.     Hays & Walter
Dilks, Miss        Finley &   Co      Howard, James W.
Dilworth, Wm.      Finley & Co.       Hoopes & Andrews
Draper, Wm.        Field, Mrs.        Hayes, Samuel
Hall & Boardman
Esherick, Joseph   F     ou   M.      Hobensack, J. N.
Eckel, John        Fornum, Wm.        Hammett & Hiles
Eckstein, John                        Hamaker & Earley
Ellison, W., & Co.  Grigg, John W.    Hammersley, George
Esher, Jacob       Gilpin, Anna       Hart, Valentine
Ely, Kent, Brock & Grew, Henry        Harned, John
Co.              Godley, Mrs. Jesse  Hieskill, Ferdinand
Eldridge, Levi     Gillilan A. Hudson Hieskill, Colson
Ellis, N. & W.     Gibbs, John W.     Hoskins, Francis
Euston & Wier      Garrison, John    Heintzleman & Co.
Eiserman, D. & G. Gemmill, James R. Hart, Samuel
Ellis, Amos        Gumbs, Mrs.        Hancock, Biddle
Ennion & Hopper    Goff, J. W.        Howard, William
Elfelt, Simon, & Son Gray, Orlando    Howell & Brother
Ellis, David       Gladding, M.       Hibbs, J. G.




NAMES OF CONTRIBUTORS.                     47
Henry, John W.     Kent & Santee      Mott, James
Hays, Samuel       Keen & Coates      Mellor, Thomas
Harley, J. S.      Kirkpatrick, James McKean, H. Pratt
Hill, John           Y.               Myers, John B.
Hankins, W. H.     Kennedy, Harriet   Mitchell, Mrs. James
Hartshorn, Anna    Kenderdine, Charles Moore, Heyl & Co.
Hazard, Alexander Koons & Heilman     Murphey, James
Harper, Mrs.       Klett, Frederick   Megarge, Samuel
Hartley,-          Kendall, R. G.     Morgan, William C.
Hover, Joseph E.   Kellar, — Mason & Kirkland
Harper, Benjamin   Kerr, -            Mackey, C. C
Hall, Mrs.         Kugler, Dr.        Mentien, J. W.
Harker & Caldwell Knight, A. L., & Co. Martin, Oliver
Hanson, A. F.      Kenny, S. G.       Maison, P.
Horstman, Mrs.     Klapp, Dr.        Metier, G. W.
King, Mrs.         Moore, James T.
Ingleby, J. Campbell Keats, Miss     Morton, S C.
Mentz & Rovoudt
Johnson, Robert    Lovering, J. S.   Mount, E.
Jordan, Jane       Livingston, Mrs    Meany, Thomas
Jeanes, Samuel     Lukens, Reuben    McDonald, Wm.
Jackson, Dr. Samuel Lennig, Charles  McEwen & Sheetz
Jenkins, Hunn      Lewis, A. J.      Morgan, Joseph
Johnson, Topliff   Louton, William T. Mitchell, J.
Jenkins, Jabez     Longstreth, M. H. Mench, C. B.
Jones, William     Lewis, William    Moyer & Hazard
Johnson & Sterrett Lord, Mrs.        Moore, C. M.
Justice & Kender- Lewis, Joseph S.   McQuaid, Felix
dine             Lister, Samuel    Moore, J. W.
Jordan, Jacob      Lippincott, J. B.  Mitchell, S. AugusJones, Joseph W.   Legget, R.          tus
Jones, Wm. D.      Lybrand, C. D.    M. A. M.
Jones, Col. Sidney  Leeds, Nathan, &  Miller, Daniel, Jr.
Jones, J.            Co.             Moore & Campion
Johnson, Jane      Landreth, D.      McDonough, A.
Jones, S. B.       Levick, Eben      Morris, Charles M.
Johnson, Mrs. Lau- Levy, G. J.        Megarge, Charles
rence            Lippincott, Aaron S. McCurdy & Co.
Jones, Dillwyn     Lipman, Hyman     Meredith, Edwin
Jones, Mrs. Caleb  Laws, George      Matsinger, --
Johns & Payne      Lothrop, Mrs.     McNeal, Charles
Lyons, Mary        Morgan & Co.
Kneedler, Jesse    Langstroth, Thomas McCallment, J. W.
Kennedy, J. M., & Loud, Mrs. Thomas Moore, Mary
Co.              Levering, Mrs.    McKeever, Mrs.
Keyser, P. A.      Longstreth, Charles Middleton, Samuel




48        NAMES OF CONTRIBUTORS.
Moore, Gabriel    Potts, Lawrence    Stemmill, Benj. B.
McDowell, Joseph   Pugh, Samuel      Sykes, Mrs. Robert
Middleton, Charles Porter & English  Sharpless, Townsend
Poulteny, Letitia  Sharpless, Samuel J.
Neal, Daniel       Parke, Hannah     Sharpless, Dr. J. T.
Nesbit, Alexander  Perkins & Co.     Sharpless, Maria
Newbold, Emma      Patton, John W.   Strawbridge, George
Newberry, John     Pepper, Henry J.  Stoever, F.
Newland E.         Pleis, J. F.      Stuart, George W.
Newkirk, H.        Pond, J.          Simpson, E.
Neal, William      Potts, W. B.      Soutter, Robert, Jr.
Neff, R. K.                          Stewart, H. B.
Ogle, Williams     Reynolds,  McFar- Simes, S.
Oat, George          land & Co.      Sanderson, Wood, &
Ogden, John M.     Ridgway, Thomas     Co.
O'Brien Laurence   Robbins, Thomas   Snyder, George
Orne, J.  r B.   Remington, William Shinnick, L.
Orne, J.          Rowand & Walton    Stewart, B. D.
Ogden, Jesse      Richardson, Wm.    Siter, James, & Co.
gen, JeRobertson, William   Smith, Charlotte A.
Price, Richard     Rowland, James & Shoemaker, Charles
Pugh, Isaac          Co.             Snowden, Benjamin
Parker, Joseph, Jr. Rowland, James   Sell and Walter
Price, Joshua L.   Reeves, Biddle    Stein, H. G.
Parrish, George D. Ridgway, Samuel H. Stetler, John M.
Parrish, Dillwyn   Rice, John        Smith, Hugh
Patterson, --      Ritter, J. L. & B. J. Smith, George K.
Phipps, Stephen    Repplier & Co.    Savage & James
Porter & English   Rohrman, J. V.    Stoutenberg, J.
Potts, M. B.      Ridney, H. F. & W. Stevenson, Wm.
Potter, W. A.     Reid, John         Smith, 
Parker, John       Reeve, Robert     Shoemaker, Robert
Parker, Joseph     Reeve, Joel       Spear, J. D.
Peters, James     Rochefort, -       Sickel, J.
Perrine, Mrs.     Reeve, Elwood      Sprague, James H.
Phipps, Sarah      Rock & Blanchard  Smith, Hugh
Parry & Randolph   Randall, Mr. B.   Snowden, Edward
Phipps, Charles    Robins, Samuel    Stradling, 
Price, Eli K.      Ripka, Joseph     Stratton, John
Patterson, Rutter & Robb, Mrs.       Shinn, Asa
Co.             Raguel, Mrs.       Sargent & Gustine
Parker, Charles    Rosenthal, Zadoc P. Sherborne, -
Patterson, Dr. H. S. Richards, Thomas  Stotesbury & Ayre
Pratt,             Reed, Jacob       Smith, Mrs.
Peters, Miss       Reed, T. S.       Sharpless, H. G.
Peddrick, Geo. L.  Roussel, Eugene   Sharpless, Charles J.




NAMES OF CONTRIBUTORS.                     49
Shee & Worrell     Vezin, Charles    Warnock, Mrs. Robt.
Swain, Eliza       Vandeweer, W. &. S. Williamson & Davis
Smithers, Richard  Vaughn & Davis    Williams, Reed & Co.
Schenck, Dr.       Vanstavoren, C.   Wayne & Simmons
Smith, YT. B.      Vanmeter,         Wainwright & GilStackhouse, P., Jr. Vansant, Mary      lingham
Stroud, James                        Wetherill, John M.
Scull, David       Wetherill, John P.  Woolridge, J. W.
Smith, Mrs. J. R. C. White, Josiah   Wright & Hunter
Slade, Mrs.        Williamson, I. V.  Wayne, William
Schrack, Christian  Wood, Joseph     Wainwright, William
Warner, Joseph     Watson, Brock
Townsend, Samuel Webb, Reuben        Watson, Thomas &
Tingley, B. W.     Wood, Richard D.    Sons.
Taylor, Levi       White, Thomas     Wharton, Deborah
Townsend, Solomon Wright, John       Worrall, Mrs. A.
Toppan, Charles    Wetherill, George D. Wright, Joseph
Turner, Joseph     Weaver, George J. Williamson,   PassTaylor, Benjamin   Watson, George W.   more
Taylor, N. & G.    Whitecar, Ware &  Welling, Charles H.
Trotter, Nathan    Walley, Samuel S. Wallace, Robert B.
Townsend, Edward Wolfe & Rantenburg White, Miss
Thompson,Benjamin Wickersham,Eliza C. Whitman, S. F.
Thorne, Charles    Williams & Brown  Walmsley, Wm.
Thomas, John       Williams, T. & Co. Wilson, C. T.
Tatum, Daniel      Warner, F. V. & Co. Wildman, Dr.
Taylor, Mrs.       Webster & Patterson
Tiers, J.          Wetherill, J. M.  Young, Alexander
Thomason, John     Williams, John    Yarnall,BenjaminH.
Tucker, John       Williamson, Jos. D. Young, James
Thouron & Co.      Williams & Lasher  Yerkes, Wm.
Tustin, J. E.      Wheeler, J. J.    Young & Randolph
Thompson, J. Edgar Whilden, Alexander Young & O'Farrell
Tarr, Henry S.     Whitall, John M.   Young, A. R.
Thum, -            Walsh, Robt. F.   Yarrow, Mrs. John
Whelan, J. G.
Vanderkemp, C. D. Warnock, Mrs. Wm. Zeiber, G. B.
We are indebted to the kindness of several persons for
anonymous contributions, and to $9 43 from some little girls,
from 5 to 12 years of age, pupils at Miss James' Academy.
Form of a Bequest of Personal Estate.
I give and bequeath to the Rosine Association of Philadelphia, and their successors, the sum of   dollars, towards
promoting the objects of said Society.
5




50           VISITS TO HOUSES
Form of a Bequest of Real Estate.
I give and devise to the Rosine Association of Philadelphia,
or their successors, all that (here describe the property),
together with the appurtenances, to hold to the said Rosine
Association of Philadelphia, and their successors, forever, for
them to dispose of and convey in any manner which will promote the objects of said Society.
VISITS TO HOUSES OF IMMORAL CHARACTER.
Extract from a Letter to H. P.
Amid the various duties arising from our efforts
to save some of the poor, erring children of our
city, we have felt it right to visit some of the
houses where they cluster together, in hopes that a
word dropped in season may find a place in some
heart, and awaken feelings that may lead them to
abandon their present condition, and have faith,
that we can be useful to them, and accomplish for
them what they feel is altogether impossible for
them to attain by their own efforts,-namely, a
restoration to a life of usefulness, and of comparative happiness. Persons often ask, Are you not
afraid to go to such places? Why should we be
afraid?  We go, hoping to do them good; and,
though we speak plainly, yet they know we mean
only kindness to them; and we have rarely met
with any rudeness, even among the most degraded.
Accompanied by Mrs. F., I went to the house of a woman whom we had been cautioned against visiting, as
being so coarse and rude, that she would probably
be uncivil to us. When we knocked at the door,




OF IMMORAL CHARACTER.             51
she came to it, and only opened it a few inches
wide, and, seeing we did not look like her usual
visitors, said, roughly, " What do you want?" We
told her, we wanted to pay her a visit. This she
unceremoniously declined. We said, we wished to
inform her what we were trying to do for the unfortunate, that we wanted her to help us, and, if she
would let us come in, we thought we could interest
her. For some time she kept the door very nearly
closed, but, as we talked, it seemed unconsciously
to open, until at last she bade us come in. We
entered. Her tone and demeanor were defiant and
repulsive, and her attitude, as she took her seat, indicated that she had steeled her heart, and was determined that we should not creep into it. Of all
this we took no notice, but spoke with her gently
and kindly.   After a time, she assembled her
family, and we conversed with them altogether. Of
the inmates of the house, I cannot speak now, but
they inspired us with feelings of deep interest, and
our remarks were principally addressed to them,
while we observed, that, as the conversation progressed, the attitude and manner of the mistress
changed, until at last she sprang from her chair,
and, seizing a stool, placed it at our feet (as Mrs.
F. and myself happened to be sitting together on
the sofa), and, seating herself upon it, laid one of
her hands on each of ours, and looked up in our
faces, with the simple earnestness of a child that is
listening to the loving words of its mother. There
was a world of wealth in that woman's heart, and
she laid it all open before us, and told us her story
of her good and evil deeds, of her changing her
name, that those she loved might not be disgraced
by her conduct, of her resentment and embittered




52          VISITS TO HOUSES
feelings because society had placed its foot upon
her, and sentenced her to a life of misery, as the
penalty for her transgression, while her tempter
stood amid the princes of the land, covered with
honors. We shall never forget that woman. We
could have shed tears with her, as, welling up from
her heart's deep fountain, came the emotions and
tenderness that had been buried for years. And
there is many another heart besides hers, that is so
covered up and obscured by the miseries and vices
by which it has been surrounded, that the superficial observer thinks, that if there was ever goodness there, it must have died out long ago. But, it
is there still! The weeds may cover it, and the
poisonous malaria that surrounds it may produce
only noxious influences, but if one sunbeam can
only reach down into those depths, where the
memories of early years and loving and gentle
affections lie sleeping, they may spring again into
life, and the hidden germ, warmed and invigorated,
may blossom once more with renewed beauty.
Many of these visits have been deeply interesting, and we always feel the great necessity of a
proper qualification to speak wisely and rightly on
such occasions. Some time since, one of our ladies
accompanied me to a house, where I had been once
before, to see a young girl, whom we hoped to be
able to save from the abandoned life she was leading; and, after our interview with her, we were
passing away from the house, when, in a back room,
we saw a party seated at a table playing cards.
We stopped, and I opened my bundle, and laid
before each of the young men the tract, headed,
" The Young Man from Home;" saying, " Young
men, I wish to give you some better employment




OF IMMORAL CHARACTER.            53
than spending your time in that way." One of them
read the title, and said, "He was at home anywhere!" and another remarked, " That times were
dull; they had nothing else to do." I replied, " That
times must be dull indeed if they could find nothing
better to do. I was fifty years of age, and had
never found a day yet that I had not something
better to do than playing cards in a house of illfame." When we first spoke to them, they answered
in a jesting tone and manner, probably amused at
our addressing them, though mortified at our finding them there; but, as the conversation progressed,
they became serious, and one of them entirely silent.
The other one said, "It was a difficult thing for a
young man to know what to do, there were so many
faiths, and so many churches-so many false professors of religion, that he believed that there were
as good people in these houses as in the churches;
and the principal difference was, that here they
were more honest, and showed what they were."
Our reply to this was, "It matters not to thee how
many faiths, or how many churches there arewhether Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, or
Quaker-whether we are true or false to our religion, or even if the whole world be hypocrites; it is
all nothing to thee. There is that in thy own mind
that tells thee what is right and wrong, and that
is all that is important for thee. Obedience to
that consciousness of right will never lead thee
into such a house as this, or into such society."
" Ah!" said he, in a saddened tone, "I fear I shall
never do any good. I have had a great deal of
good advice from a Quaker gentleman, T. S." " He
is my brother," I remarked, " and I know he never
advised thee to frequent such places as this. Where
5*




54          VISITS TO HOUSES
did you meet?" thinking perhaps he might have been
an apprentice, or in his employ. " Oh," he said, " at
Frankford, or Germantown, or somewhere."  By
this evasion, with some of his previous remarks, it
struck me, that perhaps my brother, who is a prison
visitor, might possibly have met him there, though
his appearance was very respectable, and I quickly
asked," Was it at the Eastern-?" I there stopped.
He replied, "No, no, I never was that low."  Considerable was then said on the proper employment
of time, of the evils attending a course of licentiousness, of our duties to our Creator, and to one
another. Meanwhile, the game of cards had gone
on slowly; occasionally one was thrown down, but
evidently all were deeply interested in the conversation. Our visit was ended; but, as we turned to
go, I said to the young man, "I would like to know
thy name." In a moment his head was bent to the
table, and we could see the blood suffuse it to the
deepest hue. In a tone that bespoke my feelings,
I said, " Oh, how sad it is to see a young man place
himself in a position where he is ashamed to tell his
own name." The cards were dashed upon the table,
he sprang from his seat, and, with his cheeks
covered with tears, rushed out of the house. We
silently followed.
May the heart that was touched at that period
by the visitation of the feeling within himself, to
which we had referred him, suffer its refining influence to operate upon his soul, until he can know a
proper appreciation of that time, that was given for
better, higher, and holier purposes. Sisters, this
is our missionary work; we need not go to the land
of the distant heathen, the heathen may be found
at our doors. There are thousands around us to




OF IMMORAL CHARACTER.            55
whom the Gospel is never preached. We want no
doctrines, we want no sects, but we need that living
Gospel of "doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly," that will go to the lowest haunts of
vice and misery, and snatch the victims there from
the enthralment of their own sins and those of
others; convince them there is a better way, and
that we will help them to attain it; and let our
faith, by speaking through our actions, show that
we believe we have one Father in Heaven, and that
we all are brethren.
A year after this visit, a young woman who had
come into the Rosine said, she had met a young
man a few days before in the street, with whom she
bad formerly been acquainted, and asked him to
come and visit her. "I don't go to such places any
more," he replied; and, upon her inquiring how
that happened, he related the conversation that had
taken place a year before with two ladies whom he
met at the house of Mrs. H. She repeated almost
literally the remarks that had been made.
THE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MANAGERS
OF THE ROSINE ASSOCIATION.
October 7th, 1848.
At our Annual Meeting in April, the Managers
of the Rosine Association presented to you a statement of their transactions to that period, with a
history of our progress in the great work in which
we are engaged. Since then we have endeavored
to advance as much as possible towards that degree
of usefulness in the cause of humanity which your




56             REPORT, 1848.
feelings, as well as our own, desired, and for which
we were appointed your agents. In pursuing our
vocation our labors have not been confined to our
house and family. Upwards of one hundred and
sixty visits have been paid in houses of immoral
character. Many of those visits have been deeply
interesting, and while we have been sensible that
this missionary work is one of vast importance, we
have earnestly desired that we might have the proper qualification for it, and that a blessing might
rest upon our endeavors to convince those unfortunate women that Providence had assigned to them
a higher, nobler station than that, in which the
mental endowments were sunk in the gratification
of the low animal propensities, and that a higher,
better destiny awaited them, if, breaking from the
thraldom of the debasing fetters that bound them,
the more elevated feelings of their nature were
allowed to resume their proper control. We must
acknowledge the kindness and politeness that have
greeted us, and the expressions of gratitude that
have flowed from many who had long been unused
to kindness from those, who, clothed in the garments of virtue, should have remembered that their
duty was not to sink to lower infamy those who
had fallen, but to endeavor to follow the example
of Christ, who associated with sinners that he might
speak to them the words of life and love, and show
them by his bright example the beauty and purity
of holiness.
Since the opening of the Rosine School, we have
had forty women under our care, fifteen of whom
are still in the house, learning trades, and increasing their knowledge of all kinds of business. Of a
number of those who have left us, we have very




REPORT, 1848.               57
favorable accounts, and have reason to believe their
conduct has been satisfactory to their employers,
and creditable to themselves. We would fain have
all who come to us firm in their resolves to continue
in the path of rectitude; but the habit of inebriation-which is the usual companion of other vices
-is so powerful, that in many cases the good resolve, and the aspirations after better things, yield
to that thirst which is never quenched, and the
wretched victim sacrifices hope, happiness, and salvation, physically and mentally, for that draught
which has ever proved the greatest curse of the
race.
Six of our number have gone to the almshouse;
indisposition rendering them unsuitable inmates in
our family-the institution not being a hospital,
but a house of industry, to qualify those who are
able and willing to support themselves in a respectable manner by their own labor, and a home, where
the penitent may know that kindness will greet her,
and where the desires of her better nature will meet
with sympathy and encouragement, education and
instruction in various employments prepare her for
usefulness, and she will be sustained in her efforts
to regain her self-respect, and that of mankind.
Until within the last two months, our school has
been conducted by our members; but our various
engagements rendering it impossible at all times to
attend to the duties, we have thought proper to
employ a teacher, who devotes four evenings in
each week to the task of instruction, in which she
is occasionally aided by others. We have been
highly gratified by the progress of many of our
scholars, fourteen of whom could not read when
they came to us, and several did not know a letter.




58            REPORT, 1848.
Two evenings in the week are devoted to keeping
their clothes in order, and attending to the necessary weekly duties. On the Sabbath afternoon we
have a meeting for worship, which is attended by
professors of various denominations, and one of our
members usually spends the Sabbath eve with the
family, which is occupied with suitable reading and
conversation.
As it is now a year since the opening of the
house, it is proper to report the amount of work
done by our inmates, within that period. Owing
to the extreme ignorance of many, great care and
exertion have been required in this department,
and we have watched with pleasure and satisfaction
the desire of improvement that has been generally
manifested, and the struggle to overcome the idle
habits that are the usual accompaniments of a life
of irregularity and vice. In some of the institutions for the same class of persons, the girls are
occupied in sewing buttons on cards, and similar
employments, which are more profitable in a pecuniary way than making clothing; but we consider
it of the greatest importance to qualify them for
general usefulness in families, and therefore have
thought it right to sacrifice the pecuniary advantage of the Institution, for the increased benefit of
the inmates.
We wish to interest our members to bring their
tailoring and mantua-making to the house, as we
have had to procure work from tailors, and the
compensation is so small, that our work-room has
not availed the profits it might if our members had
more generally become our customers. Many of
those who come into our family are exceedingly
bare of clothing, and we have thought it right to




REPORT, 1848.                 59
give to all the privilege of wearing the clothing belonging to the house (while with us); and, in many
instances, propriety requires that we should give
them various articles when they leave, which adds
considerably to our expenses.   Contributions of
clothing would therefore be very acceptable. The
number of articles made for the use of the family
amount to 540: 21 bed-ticks, 98 pillows and cases,
7 bolsters and cases, 23 bed-spreads, 68 sheets, 8
table-cloths, 38 comfortables, 71 towels, 55 dresses,
50 chemises, 32 skirts, 46 aprons, 27 handkerchiefs,
and 2 bed-gowns.
For customers, 473 garments have been made:
124 vests, producing  -  -    - $63 12
46 pairs of pantaloons,  -  -  - 27 00
70 shirts, - -   -   -   -   - 43 74
55 dresses, -  -  -38 25
Sundry articles, numbering 178, -  - 43 20
Total, 473 for -  -  -   $215 31
The amount of our expenses, including rent, furnishing, salaries, alterations and repairs to the
house, and family expenses, has been, $2,113 99.
What our expenses will be in the future we cannot say, but they will probably average $1,600.
To meet this, we have the interest on the
Mortgage on the house,  -  -  - $78 00
On $1400 loaned,  -  -   -   - 84 00
Annual subscriptions from members, - 415 00
Probable income from employment of
inmates,  -    -   -   -   - 300 00
Annual subscriptions from gentlemen, 140 00
$1,017 00
By this statement, we shall yet need an increased income of $600 to balance our accounts.




60             REPORT, 1848.
How this can be raised, we must leave to your wisdom to devise. We have now four hundred members, who are annual contributors, generally paying
$1 00. If those among them, who feel their circumstances will warrant it, will pay two dollars per
annum, this will probably raise two hundred more,
and if every member will feel bound to obtain at
least one or more among her friends, we might
soon feel that our family is permanently established.
Efforts have been made at our meeting to organize an efficient collecting committee, to invite our
citizens to become subscribers to a fund that would
enable us to purchase the house, and insure the
permanent support of the establishment. To some
of the members of this committee we are indebted
for considerable assistance, but the labor has fallen
in a great degree upon the managers, to make collections and procure subscribers. This, in connection with their other duties, has absorbed considerable time, more at some periods than they felt they
were altogether warranted in bestowing. We therefore propose, that our members generally be invited
to procure contributions and subscriptions, and that
some others may be added to the collecting committee, whose hearts are in the work, and who are willing to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.
At the period of our annual meeting we had
applied to the Legislature for an Act of Incorporation. This was obtained soon after, and we are
now legally qualified to act in a society capacity,
and receive legacies. One of our friends, who attended our annual meeting, and became deeply interested, was taken sick a few days afterwards, and




REPORT, 1848.               61
looking forward to a change, made her will, and
left the Rosine Association one hundred dollars.
Soon after she passed away to that region where,
we hope, she will be numbered with those who will
welcome the redeemed Magdalen to heaven. The
legacy will be paid in a few months.
Several cases coming under our notice of females
desiring employment having been sent to houses of
ill-fame from Intelligence Offices, and through advertisements in the newspapers; and knowing that
women are always liable to be thus drawn into the
haunts of sin, and exposed to temptation through
deceptive allurements, the managers have thought
it right to open an Intelligence Office for women
and children, believing the usefulness of the Society
may thus be increased, and many perhaps saved
from ruin. Situations have already been procured
for forty-five women and children.
Applications have been made to us on several
occasions to receive women who have been inebriates, but who have not been in habits of licentiousness; and also to take charge of young girls, who
were in imminent danger of being drawn into a
course of vice, if the Society did not give them the
protection of a home, and the influence of educational and other advantages. Acting upon the
principle that "prevention is better than cure," we
have taken some such individuals under our care.
How far this may be in accordance with the views
of the Society we know not, but we desire to be
advised on the subject.
We feel it to be a matter of great importance,
that a house should be open for the reception of
virtuous but destitute women and children, until
homes in suitable families could be procured for
6




62            REPORT, 1848.
them. In this Asylum, girls out of place, but who
have some means, could be boarded on moderate
terms, and thus safely protected until situations
could be obtained. We believe that many might
thus be saved from the temptations to which they
are subjected in their homeless and friendless condition.
REPORT READ AT THE SEMI-ANNUAL MEETING
OF THE ROSINE ASSOCIATION.
Since our Annual Meeting, one of our members,
believing that a more thorough knowledge of the
labors of the friends of humanity in other cities,
would enable us to act with increased judgment in
our own Institution, visited New York and Boston,
to gain information relative to the various Associations that have been formed to correct and reform
the vicious and degraded, and also to assist the
innocent, the virtuous, and the destitute children of
poverty and misfortune. In this journey, she saw
much to convince her, that though everywhere (if
we search below the surface), we find we are more
or less guilty, by our penuriousness, thoughtlessness, and indifference, of causing or contributing to
the poverty, and often the consequent depravity of
many of our sex, yet the Almighty is ever prompting his children who desire to walk in his ways, to
devote their energies, their leisure, and their funds,
to the relief of those who have been the victims of
oppression, or neglected moral and religious culture.
A display of eloquence may warm the fancy, and
interest the feelings, may excite our admiration




REPORT, 1848.              63
and approbation, but a simple narrative of facts
speaks to our hearts, awakens our sympathies, and
prompts the hand and the tongue to action-such
facts press upon the mind of the writer, and urge
her to lay before you in the simplest manner the
information that others are up and doing-their
hands are to the plough, and their motto is-" We
will do what we can."
The first visit paid was to the Tombs, in New
York, to which place several others were made
subsequently. The Report of the Prison Society
of 1845, states the average number of women in
that prison, is 60 or 70, and that in the past year,
1970 were committed, all of whom were without
any employment whatever. Here, we found in the
upper rooms a number of young girls, from ten to
twenty years of age, associating together. It was
a sad sight to see the little vagrant of ten or twelve
years, committed for the want of a proper home,
cast into companionship with those, whose habits
had taken from them a name in respectable society,
and whose corrupting influence must be powerful
over those neglected and unfortunate children.
In the yard of the prison were about thirty women,
seated on benches, many (perhaps the greatest
number), showing by their wretched, bloated faces,
a proof of the cause of their incarceration. Others
were in the cells, or walking in the entries, but
with every opportunity to circulate the poison that
festered their own minds, and created a malaria
wherever they moved or breathed.
On the Sabbath afternoon, a temperance meeting
was held in the prison, which, under other circumstances, might have been profitable, but under the
existing ones, the beneficial effect is exceedingly




64             REPORT, 1848.
doubtful. The men and boys, a motley crew indeed, stood in the galleries of the corridor where
the meeting was held, and the female prisoners
were seated on the benches below, exposed to the
gaze of those above, and also, to that of a number
of spectators, whom curiosity alone appeared to
have drawn to witness the exhibition. This exposure of the prisoners to each other, and to the
public, must have a disastrous effect, particularly
on the women, if only one particle of shame yet
lingered in their minds, or they should be recognized after leaving the prison.
But sad as these circumstances are, they have
been worse. Formerly these women and children
were under the charge of men only (doubtless sometimes illy fitted for the station), and no female
voice spoke to them in tones of condemnation, instruction, or encouragement. But Providence raised
up a band of devoted women, opened for them the
doors of that prison, and through their influence a
matron was introduced, and a regular series of
visits made to the miserable inmates. They have
now the opportunity of hearing the Scriptures read,
the utterance of heartfelt prayer, and the words of
inquiry, of admonition, and of sympathy, from
female lips. The writer met several of those ladies
there, and understood some of them devoted part
of every Sabbath to this blessed mission.
Blackwell's Island was also visited. To this
prison women are sent, who are sentenced to periods of confinement of from one to six months. A
large majority of these cases are from disorderly
houses; women (many of them young), to whom
the glass, profane oath, and licentious practices,
are the habits of daily life. To some of these, the




REPORT, 1848.               65
constant changes are from the abode of drunkenness and debauchery to the almshouse, and the
prison. Cases have been known, where women
have been thus imprisoned forty times, and in their
midst were several young girls, whose countenances,
manners, and histories, told that the blight of the
destroyer had but lately passed over them. From
the Matron we learned, that there were 260 women
there; one hundred in the hospital; and one hundred and sixty in a frame shantee, shut up together
during the day, often without employment, and
corrupting, by this dreadful association, the good
that might yet remain in a single inmate. It was
a distressing scene to witness, and to know that so
little effort was made to cultivate industrious habits,
or reform the morals of that degraded company;
to the most of whom, perhaps to all, Providence
had given the capacity to be useful, respectable,
religious women. From occasional visits to these
prisons, benevolent, earnest minds have seen the
necessity, not only of efforts to remedy these evils,
but that a preventive power could and would effect
great benefits to the unfortunate daughters of poverty, ignorance, and crime. Prompted by these
feelings, two societies of women have arisen, whose
labors are enlisted for that unfortunate class. The
female branch of the Prison Association has a
temporary home, prepared for such as they may
have reason to believe, can be benefited by being
under their care; and for whom situations are found
as soon as practicable. From the Annual Report
of 1847, this society has had in charge ninety-nine
individuals, for many of whom places have been
procured. Of these, they have had favorable ac6*




66            REPORT, 1848.
counts of thirty-eight, and twenty were still at the
Home.
The Female Moral Reform Association have also
an Institution called " The House of Industry, and
Home of the Friendless," for the reception of virtuous, but destitute women and children, until situations are provided for them. These ladies have
entered into an extensive field of labor.  From
May 1st, 1847, to April 31st, 1848, six hundred
and five women and children have been under their
care; of this number 334 have been adults, and
271 children; 150 of these women could not read.
They have also opened an Intelligence Office,
that they might, through their efforts, save the innocent from being sent to the abode of " her whose
steps lead down to hell," or betrayed into the power
of the destroyer, and that the destitute and the
stranger might have their wandering steps guided
to homes of respectability and usefulness. During
the past year 1415 women applied to them for situations. Of these 541 obtained employment; many
others applied,'but not being of that class that
could properly be placed in families, their names
were not registered. In consequence of so many
more persons applying for situations than of housekeepers desiring domestics, many have continued to
resort to the office, week after week, until their
funds were exhausted, and the watch-house became
their only home, if, in their desperation, they were
not tempted to turn as a last resource to a life of
crime. These facts coming daily before the managers, they felt the absolute necessity of more enlarged facilities to extend the great work Providence
had given them.
Auxiliary societies have been formed throughout




REPORT, 1848.               67
the state, and money raised, and clothing sent to
aid them, not only in New York, but from other
states. During the past year, 197 boxes, barrels,
etc., containing clothing, bedding, fruit, and vegetables, designed for the use of the Institution, have
been received from the auxiliaries and other friends,
and eleven thousand seven hundred dollars contributed to enable them to build a suitable house, and
prepare a temporary abode, where the helpless
orphan, and the destitute and friendless woman,
may fly for a season, and feel that there they may
truly find a home. A lot has been purchased, and
the building commenced.
In addition to these extensive operations in the
cause of humanity, the Society publishes a paper
called the "Advocate of Moral Reform," of which
they send 10,000 copies to act as missionaries in
as many families, and 40,000 pages of tracts emanate from that office, speaking their words of advice
and consolation to the thoughtless, the vicious, or
the distressed. They have also published 10,000
copies of the "Walks of Usefulness," a valuable
work which ought to be read in every family.
To this account we may add that woman's heart
has been so awakened to the necessities and capability of this noble enterprise, that one thousand
and six women have become life members of the
Society.
The Magdalen Society of New York (also under
the care of females), has been fifteen years in operation. In the past year, forty-seven women have
been under the care of that association, and seventeen are now inmates of the Asylum. Like ourselves, they have had their trials and discouragements, but with us they can rejoice in believing




68             REPORT, 1848.
that though as formerly, some seed may be thrown
upon stony ground, and some may be choked by
briers, yet some has fallen on a fertile soil, that is
bringing forth good fruit, with a hopeful promise
for the future.
In Boston, the society for the same class of persons, has at present a fine large new building,
called the Penitent Females' Refuge. For a number of years they struggled with pecuniary and
other difficulties, which they have now surmounted,
and the society appears to be placed upon a permanent basis. When visited in July, they had 18
inmates. In the comparison between the Institutions in New York, Boston, and our Rosine, they
have the advantage in having more extensive buildings, and the opportunity to accommodate each individual with a separate apartment, but in other
respects we congratulate ourselves, that, with our
plan of operation, we feel we can do more good than
we could in pursuing theirs.
By the introduction of trades, OUR HOME may
be truly called a school, as besides the usual
branches of English education, every individual who
wishes may become thoroughly versed in tailoring,
mantua-making, plain sewing, cooking, and housework.
In the Asylums, both in Boston and New York,
occasional cases have been received, of women who
have been the victims of intemperance, but, who
have not deviated from the path of virtue, and of
young girls, whose situations of danger called for
protection, instruction, and care, which, if not bestowed, the Divine power alone could have saved
from degradation and vice.
We, too, have had similar applications. The in



REPORT, 1848.               69
temperate woman has flown to us, asking us to protect her from her own debasing habits, and the innocent girl, whom circumstances had placed upon
the brink of ruin, have been brought to us, even by
those whose houses were the abodes of licentiousness; and the shelter of our house and the benefits
of our institution have been craved by them, with all
the earnestness of supplication, for the poor child,
who, unconscious of the dreadful horrors of that
gulf before her, thoughtlessly and carelessly approached the awful precipice, over which, if she fell,
infamy and moral and spiritual death would be her
portion. How far propriety may warrant us in receiving such into our home, ought now to be the
subject of consideration.
By the 10th Annual Report of the Moral Reform
Society in Boston, we find they are following in
the footsteps of the New York Society, in publishing a newspaper called the "Friend of Virtue,"
forming auxiliary societies throughout the state,
keeping an intelligence office, and providing a temporary home for the orphan or neglected child, and
the destitute and homeless woman.
They, too, have struggled with pecuniary and
other discouragements, but, as their objects became
known, and the public interested, their difficulties
are decreasing, and they are gaining that appreciation and sympathy that will enable them to work
more effectually in the cause of humanity.
The number of individuals received into their
temporary Home, during the past year, was 193,
of whom they say 86 are known to be doing well.
Some have not been heard from, and others are
bad, or doubtful cases; 12 infants have been born
in the house, and 12 received after birth. The In



70             REPORT, 1848.
telligence Office is credited with $527, received from
applicants, and 800 women and children have been
provided with respectable homes.
They have lately removed to a large and commodious house, and eleven auxiliary societies have
each contributed materials to furnish one room.
Their address to their friends is worthy of quotation, being equally applicable to them and to us.
"After having done so much, will our contributors
suspend their efforts? There can be no rest from
paying our rent; no rest from sustaining the Home;
no rest from clothing the destitute; no rest from
giving bread to those who devote all their time to the
cause; and there is no rest for those who feel bound
to this labor of love, for the neglected, the destitute, and the wretched."
Another society in Boston claims our notice. It
is the Needlewoman's Friend Society; 175 women
have been employed during the past year, and sixteen hundred dollars expended in the payment of
their labor. They have a store where garments
made by these persons are disposed of, and also
fancy or other articles are sold on commission for
those who need support, yet are reluctant to have
their wants known. This Society also performs an
incalculable amount of good, but the low prices paid
for woman's labor, in every department, renders it
impossible for the weary, worn-out seamstress, with
the greatest exertion, to do more than gain a bare
subsistence.
In referring to the statistics of these different
associations, we are led to reflect upon the causes
of crime and destitution, and though various influences are powerful to effect the wonderful amount
of vice and misery with which our land is deluged,




REPORT, 1848.               71
yet we rise from this examination with the full conviction, that in woman as in man, the same causes
produce the same effects, and that if careful reports
were kept in these institutions, they would stand in
about the same ratio as those presented by our
prisons. These tell us that ignorance, intemperance, and the want of early industrious business
habits, bring shame, ruin, and misery in their train.
From  reports of different institutions, we make
some extracts, because they are matters of which
women generally know little, and because they are
important, as they ought to influence every one in
our community to exert themselves to remove evils
which are the parents of every degree of vice.
Robert Wiltse, agent of the Sing-Sing Prison,
states, that in 1834, the convicts there numbered
842; 170 of whom could not read; 34 had never
been at school; 85 could read but not write; 42
had a common English education; 38 had been in
college; 510 could read and write, but many very
imperfectly; 485 of these were habitual drunkards,
and one-third of the whole number had committed
their respective crimes under the influence of liquor;
161 were orphans at 18 years; 48 before they were
5 years; 72 between 5 and 14 years. The convictions of a large majority of these cases may be
traced to a total neglect on the part of their parents
or guardians in educating them, and confining their
attention to some regular systematic business; 257
had intemperate parents; 397 had lost, or left
parents before they were 21 years of age; 48 before
10 years of age; 352 had been married; 86 had
deserted wives.
The Rev. Mr. Smith, Chaplain of the Auburn
Prison, New York, states, that in 1834, the convicts




72            REPORT, 1848.
in that prison numbered 670; of these, 188 were
without education; 267 with very little; 204 with
common; 8 with academical; 3 with collegiate.
Of these 670, but 8 were total abstinents; 492
were under the influence of liquor when their
crimes were committed.
Mr. Pillsbury, Warden of the Connecticut State
Prison, states the number of convicts to be 180.
No convict there has ever received a college or
classical education. The proportion in this prison
of those who could not read has been 22 in 100.
Who could read but not write, 32 in a hundred;
could do both, 46 in 100; read, write, and cipher,
8 in 100; never learnt a trade, 72 in 100; began
to learn trades, but abandoned them, and did not
follow any, 24 in 100; have followed regular trades,
only 4 in the 100; committed crimes while intoxicated, 44 in 100; who could read, write, and were
temperate, 2 in 100; of convicts who could read,
write, are temperate, and followed a trade, not one;
could read, write, and worked at trades, 4 in 100;
owners of real estate, 6 in 100; owners of real
estate and temperate, 2 in 100; habitual drunkards,
75 in 100; deprived of parents before ten years of
age, 32 in 100; the average age of criminals is 25.
These proportions are taken in the cases of 1118
prisoners, convicted from 1790 to 1834.
Their crimes may be ranged under three heads:
Violence, 190; theft, 716; fraud, 207. Average
of cost of conviction to the State, $75 00.
From the annual report of the Maryland Penitentiary we find that in 1847, 89 convicts were
received, 49 of whom were under 21 years of age.
Of 281 now in the prison, 121 cannot read, 50 can
read but not write; 116 were left orphans, 139




REPORT, 1848.              73
were not bound out, or left before they were of age,
and 118 were either habitual drunkards, or were in
liquor when their offences were committed.  In
1843, in that prison, on 290 convicts there was
inflicted as punishment for various offences, 9537
lashes, and they were subjected to 463 days of confinement in the cells on bread and water.
In an institution in New York, similar to our
House of Refuge, for the reformation of juvenile
delinquents, which has been in operation 22 years,
they have received 4,167 children. By the annual
reports of the last three years, we find they have
admitted within that period 543. Of these, 400
were foreigners, and but 143 Americans.
The police records of New York state, that in
one year 480 were committed to prison under 25
years of age, many of them between 9 and 16.
The Inspectors of Moyamensing Prison report,
that in 1847, 175 convicts were sentenced to hard
labor. Of these, 9 only were temperate, 36 moderate drinkers, and 130 intemperate; 92 had not
learned a trade; 42 were under 20 years of age;
83 could not read, and 27 could read very imperfectly. In our Eastern Penitentiary in 1845, of
138 convicts received, 33 could not read, 66 could
not write, 18 were under 20 years of age, and all
but 15 had been in the habit of drinking. Of these,
only 21 had served out apprenticeships, and 96 had
never been bound to trades. The Rev. Thomas
Larcomb states, that of 962 prisoners who had
been under his care, 515 had been deprived of one
or both parents in early life, and 830 professed to
have received no religious instruction, 406 were
concerned in manufacturing ardent spirits, or lived
in houses where it was sold, 151 could be called
7




74            REPORT, 1848.
temperate, 13 commenced their course of crime
under 10 years of age, and 328 under 20. The
first cause of crime of 168 was intemperance, of
182 licentiousness.
The whole number of convicts in the Eastern
Penitentiary since 1829, has been 2300. Of these,
283 were under 20 years of age, 594 could not
read, 517 could read, but not write, 1408 drank to
intoxication, and 516 were moderate drinkers, 1929
had not been bound to trades, or had not served
out apprenticeships.
From the opening of our House of Refuge in
1828 to 1845, 1800 children were received. The
average has been 14 years of both boys and girls,
when they were admitted.   In referring to the
reports of seven years, we find 704 children received. Of these, 560 could not read intelligibly,
and many did not know their letters.
Since the opening of the Rosine Institution, last
October, we have received 40 inmates. Of these,
14 could not read, and several had not learned a
letter. A number of the others were poor readers,
none could spell correctly, and only two or three
knew the multiplication table perfectly. Three had
attempted to learn trades, but abandoned them
without making much progress; 28 were natives of
this country, and 12 were foreigners.
These statistics unfold to us convincing proofs
that ignorance and intemperance are the demons,
whose victims people these institutions, either
directly or indirectly, and whose influence operates
to prevent the cultivation of those moral and religious sentiments that can alone lessen the number
of their sorrowful inmates.  With such records
before us, can we rest, and feel we have nothing to




REPORT, 1848.               75
do? While our prisons, our almshouses, and our
asylums, tell the same story, can we sit idly without making an effort to prevent or remedy the evils
that surround us? Have we nothing to do in the
way of private labor, or in giving our aid to such
societies as may trace these evils to their source,
and strive to remove them, and in place of the
malaria that produces crime and misery, create a
healthful atmosphere glowing with the light of
intelligence, and purified by mental and religious
culture -?
Let us reflect upon this subject, and let those
thoughts be the parents of actions that will lead us
into useful life. Then, indeed, shall we feel we have
not lived in vain. Everything around us is unceasing action, and we, too, will find it a busy world
if we fulfil all our duties.:i-    The members are requested to call with
their subscriptions at the Store of the Association,
No. 204 North Eighth Street.
It is desirable that payments should be made
soon after the Annual Meeting, which occurs the
first Thursday in April.




76           MAMMY, DON'T CRY.
MAMMY, DON'T CRY.
A TALE OF THE TIMES.
The other day to Bedford Street I went-and wandered
there
In search of a poor homeless one, who needed friends
and care;
I found her not, but in her stead I saw a sight most sad;
A woman kept that garret-room in filthy tatters clad;
A bed of straw laid on the floor-a table, and a chair,
A charcoal furnace-and these formed the whole possessions there.
On some dark rags, in one recess another woman laid,
She was a boarder-and a third-(also a boarder) staid,
With two small children, in that room-no other home
had they,
Her landlady had turned her out, for she had nought to
payHer husband had been dead three months-her furniture
was soldHer clothes were gone, and little left to keep them from
the cold,
She sat upon the bed of straw-her babe was at her
breastA lovely child, scarce three years old (in dirty tatters
drest),
Was by her side-and when she told her tale, with many
a sigh,
The little cherub, nestling close, said, " Mammy, do not
cry!"
I oft have heard the plaints of woe, and seen the teardrops start,
But rarely have I heard a voice that so unnerved my
heart,
As that young child's, when, looking in her mother's
bloated face,
She showed, in " Mammy, do not cry," such tenderness
and grace.




MAMMY, DON'T CRY.                  77
Days passed-but still upon my mind that scene-those
children staidSo I returned, and sad at heart, another visit paid;The woman who had owned the'room, and took the
boarders in,
They said, had been to prison sent —Drink, her besetting
sinThe bed, the table, and the chair, the furnace, too, were
gone;
The whole, most probably, had been for liquor put in
pawn;
No article of furniture was in that dismal room,
Save one-it was a knife-which had escaped the general doom.
The boarder, who on rags had laid, was crouched upon
the floor,
But such an eye, and such a face I never saw before.
A brutal wretch, who bore the name of Man, had struck
the blow,
And in her streaming blood had laid his drunken victim
low.
And there, on that uncovered floor, the children's mother
laid;
" She has been drunk since yesterday," -the other
woman said;
She was asleep-upon her side-her bosom open-bareHer arfn outstretched-the little babe was closely nestling there,
The lovely little cherub girl, whose tones had won my
heart
Was seated by her mother's side, who bore no mother's
part.
No shoe, nor stocking, either had-one shoe the mother
wore,
And concentrated wretchedness was pictured on that floor,
"The down stairs lady, yesterday, had given a piece of
bread —
No food the child had seen that day"-by angels only fed.
7*




78           MAMMY, DON'T CRA
I roused the mother up, and tried to make her comprehend
That I would take the cherub home, and prove myself
her friend.
But no! the native instinct sprang impulsive to the
heart:
"You cannot-must not take my child-from her I will
not part!"
Tears freely flowed-again that voice said, in its earnest
tone,
" Mammy, don't cry!" I could have clasped the cherub
as my own.
Some food was brought-the children's eyes bent on that
loaf of bread;
More keen delight I never saw, than when those lips
were fed.
Yet, all my eloquence was vain. Of food, of bed bereft,
Of raiment, fire, no comfort near-no hope nor credit
leftDegraded, drunken, without strength her duties to fulfil,
The woman sunk-yet in that form there lived the
mother still.
I left them on that cold bare floor, and sadly turned
away,
Wishing the legislative power had been with me that day;
I would have closed each dram-shop then-no tavern,
nor hotel,
Should keep a bar-the druggist's shop alone should poison sell.
Then, can we give one wondering thought why vice and
crime should reign,
When with the mother's milk, the babe imbibes the
liquid baneWhen all around, by license free, is deadly ruin wrought,
And human beings turned to brutes, by Rum for sixpence bought?




REPORT, 1849.               79
REPORT OF THE MANAGERS OF THE ROSINE
ASSOCIATION.
Managers:-Annis A. Furness, Anne Price,
Sarah Tyndale, Elizabeth Pugh, Margaret Griscom, Eliza Parker, Ellen Lord, Ann Campion, Mira
Townsend, Lydia Gillingham, Sophia Lewis, Mary
Kaley, Susan Grew, Annabella L. Townsend, Eliza
Yard, Margaret Kelton, Elizabeth Hunt, Mary M.
Hastings, Elizabeth Allen, Eliza Parker.
President, Annis P. Furness; Vice-President,
Anne Price; Secretary, Margaret Griscom; Treasurer, Mira Townsend.
May, 1849.
The revolution of another year brings us again
together, and the question arising in every mind is,
what have we done during the past twelve months
to realize the idea which was the means of associating women of different tastes and pursuits, and of
various denominations, in one band, to act as with
one mind. Is that idea a living element growing
with the progress of time, expanding the good and
kindly feelings of our nature, and working the redemption of those who have been placed under
circumstances which have made them differ from
ourselves, by their vices or their misfortunes?
We cannot flatter ourselves by believing that we
would have been stronger, or more elevated than
they are, had no better principles been instilled
into our minds, no purer, higher associations surrounded us, no holier influences beamed upon our
path than were shed upon that of the generality of
the fallen ones.




80            REPORT, 1849.
If we admit this view to be true, the question
recurs to us with double force, what have we done
to repair these disadvantages, caused by the unequal state of society, and to create a more correct
feeling in the community?
What have we done? Sixty-four women have
been received into our house, taken from scenes of
vice and pollution, from the gaming table, and the
drunkard's bar; from courses leading to the almshouse and the prison, and placed in a position
where they had the opportunity of receiving a degree of education, a knowledge of tailoring, mantuamaking, and sewing generally, and of being
instructed in household duties. To these have been
added the advantages resulting from the almost
daily association with our members, familiar reading
of the written Gospel and the spoken Word, through
the living instrument. Many of these have appreciated their privileges, and we hope their future
may be an enduring record of the blessings that
may be derived from a residence for a season in the
Rosine Home."
We could not rationally expect, that in a class
who have hitherto had so little to hope, so little to
stimulate their better feelings, that all should be
prepared to abandon at once every debasing practice, and corrupted habit, and estimate as we do,
their present benefits, and future advantages. They
have been cast off by the virtuous community; we
have perhaps all felt at times a secret horror of
their very presence, and have shown it in our words
and actions. Our efforts now prove that a change
has been wrought in us, but they feel that we are a
small part of the community, and that the stain
once upon them can never be washed away. We




REPORT, 1849.               81
may forgive, but they know we will not forget.
Hope therefore with them is, and must be small.
Doubtless, in some cases it has been the deficiency
in that organ, that during adverse circumstances
induced them in a despairing moment to add crime
to misfortune.
Again:-Where no principle has been instilled,
impulse will rule. Let us trace the course of one,
and it will be that of many of that hapless class.
The offspring of parents whose habits have sowed
the evil seed, whose principles being corrupt could
bestow no other upon their child; perhaps at ten
years of age sent through the streets to sell matches,
or to beg; at twelve, hired as a child nurse, or
errand girl, from family to family, and at a more
advanced age seduced to the path of evil by such
associates as chance may throw around her, and
here is the girl who seeks her home in the brothel.
A representative of another large class may also
be drawn. The orphan child of the victim of
poverty and destitution is placed in a family, who
(though doatingly careful of their own daughters),
think not, care not, feel not for the poor little
drudge in the kitchen, who receives barely the
stipulated schooling, and is considered careless and
stupid for not making equal progress with the well-,
taught children of the family, to whose mistress it
never occurs, that the mind, like the vegetable
world, must have its sunlight, and its dew to capacitate it for improvement.  Of the rain-drops
caused by punishment mayhap it may have full
acquaintance in the cheerless kitchen, or half-furnished garret, but of that sunshine in the heart
that overflows in the romping children in the parlor,
she has small experience.  She sees the social




82             REPORT, 1849.
habits there, and feels her own desolation. She
longs for something, for somebody to love, and is
therefore prepared to give the affection of an overflowing heart to whoever may claim its sympathies.
Unguarded by principle (for none has been instilled), she becomes the victim of vice, not because
she is naturally worse than others, but, that she
has been more unfortunate, and there was no protecting hand, or warning voice, to save her in the
hour of temptation.
We have met with some cases of girls, who, not
having had proper care, have been sent to the
House of Refuge, perhaps as vagrants, or for small
offences, and while there, have been initiated by
some of the older ones into such details of immoral
life, as prepared them to become, in their turn, the
same abandoned characters. The.managers of that
institution are fully aware of the importance of
classifying their inmates, but the want of room has
hitherto prevented them from making many arrangements which they deem important.
It is certainly a subject worthy of consideration
by those who have the disposal of such persons,
whether the "Refuge" is the proper place (under
existing circumstances), for those who have been in
licentious habits.
Another class to which we may refer, is that of
girls, who have been sent from Intelligence Offices
to immoral houses, and have thus innocently been
thrown into the power of those, by whose arts they
have been betrayed, through whose misrepresentations and persuasions they have been yielding victims, or even in some instances, the forced companions of pollution and crime.
Were it proper to detail some circumstances that




REPORT, 1849.               83
have come to our knowledge, in which the innocent
and unwary have been thus led into scenes and practices of vice, the recital, while it awakened the
sympathies, would shock the feelings. The question
naturally arises, will not the law award the due
retribution? But we must remember, in such cases,
the injured individual is poor, and friendless, while
the authors of her ruin, through their pecuniary,
and other advantages, even when brought to the
courts of justice, have the power (if not entirely to
screen themselves), to cast such imputations upon
her character, or her weakness, that the charges
however true seem triumphantly refuted. Here
again arises the inquiry:-What are we doing?
Are we instructing the youthful minds around us
in regard to the temptations and dangers to which
they may be subjected, warning them against evil
books, and associations, and instructing them in
those principles of morality and religion which will
give them strength to resist seductive influences,
and lead them when under discouraging circumstances, to put their trust in Him, in whom confidence was never reposed in vain.
Are we endeavoring to instil habits of industry,
not only in accordance with the necessities of our
families, but with the taste and genius of the individual? Providence has not made all alike, but
has given us intellectual inclinations, which must
be in a degree consulted, to promote our happiness.
Some of us believe, there would be few idle people,
if every one could follow the dictates of those faculties with which they have been endowed. We acknowledge this difference in ourselves, but who remembers that the inmate in the kitchen may have
her tastes and her aversions? that though stern




84            REPORT, 1849.
necessity may place her there, her employment may
be distasteful to her, and while we accuse her of
idleness and inattention; who thinks of inquiring
in what lies her gift, and endeavors to facilitate its
profitable indulgence?
The idea is spreading in society, and we believe
it to be a true one, that if the field of useful employment for women was extended, and pecuniary
remuneration in accordance to the labor, and not
the sex that performed it, we should have a far more
virtuous community, and females would not be
tempted as they are at present, after struggling in
vain to gain a miserable living by sewing, to cast
off their painfully earned pittance, for the apparently greater gains of the idle prostitute.
Are we considering these subjects as we ought,
and while we are awakening the minds of others to
think, and to act, are we preparing the young
females around us to qualify themselves for whatever business may open for them, and by their integrity, industry, and virtue, adorn and elevate their
profession, whatever it may be.
We must recur again to the question.-What have
we done? Of the sixty-four women who have been
in the Institution, we should rejoice if we could say,
all were still pursuing the rightful path; but habits
of inebriation in many instances undermine the
good resolve, and that impulse ungoverned by principle which first impelled them to err, as suddenly
perhaps induced them to seek the shelter of our
home, and in some cases has prompted them as
hastily to abandon it.
But in several instances they have returned, and
brought others with them, showing that though
weak and impulsive, the aspirations after a better




REPORT, 1849.               85
life were not extinct, and that they appreciated the
benefits they had received, by inducing others to
become candidates for the same privileges.
One of our present family, who has been several
months with us, was told by one of the Managers
that a situation would be procured for her, with
which at first she seemed pleased, but after a little
consideration she inquired if she might not be permitted to stay awhile longer, remarking, " I feel my
soul is safer here." Another, who has been living
in a family six months, in a conversation with a
friend remarked, " the Rosine is a blessed home i
had it not been for that, where would I have been
at present? I feel that now there is a chance for
me to rise once more into a respectable station in
life, and earn my living in creditable independence."
This is the feeling evinced by others who have been
under our care; and those among us who have been
most deeply engaged in the work, and have known
most intimately the histories and feelings of our unfortunate inmates, can unite in the expression that
the Rosine is indeed a blessed home. But while
we rejoice in the -evidences that Providence has in
many respects blest our efforts, we must acknowledge we have had our trials, and our disappointments. Some who have claimed our interest and
sympathy, and who for awhile promised well, have
fallen again in the moment of temptation; but we
have reason to believe that even a few days spent
in the Rosine are not without their benefit, and that
the poor erring one, though she may return to her
evil course, has in most cases had the witness
awakened in her soul, and felt she was left without
excuse to her conscience, and in several cases, they
have returned, begging to be again received in the
8




86            REPORT, 1849.
home they had deserted. In two instances they
brought others with them, and one of our present
family was brought to us by one, who though she
had not strength of principle to continue herself in
the rightful course, yet urged another to come and
solicit our shelter and protection.
Five months since a woman was brought to us by
one of our members in a most wretched condition,
without any clothing but a miserable dress. She
had been sleeping in the barns below the city, and
came up in the day, and wandered from place to
place among the vile traffickers in the gin shops,
for a mouthful of food, or a glass of that enemy that
had wrought her ruin. She was received, and in a
few days her history became known. She is the
wife of a gentleman in a neighboring city. During
a long-continued spell of illness her physician had
ordered her to take her medicine in brandy to make
it more palatable. She soon discovered that when
under the influence of liquor her domestic afflictions
and bodily sufferings were not felt so severely, and
without reflecting that the draught that now soothed
her, might become her worst enemy and her master,
she unresistingly became a slave to that destroyer
of souls, and sacrificed husband, children, and home.
She had wandered to Philadelphia, had associated
with abandoned wretches who had robbed her of
her clothing, and for months had been a homeless,
friendless, outcast. A week in the Rosine made
her a new being. The better feelings of her nature
awakened, she became sensible of her lost condition,
and it was delightful to those who witnessed it, to
watch the progress of this unfortunate woman, as
from day to day her countenance altered, indicating
that she was rising from her state of degradation,




REPORT, 1849.               87
and the hallowed influences around her were restoring to her her self-respect, and the desire to
gain the respect of others. She applied industriously
to sewing, and became an able assistant in the
Work-room. After being some months with us, her
husband was informed of her being in the Rosine.
He came immediately to the city to see her, and a
correspondence ensued between them, which resulted
in his sending her money, and permission to
return to him. She left us three weeks since,
and some of us felt it ought truly to be a thanksgiving day for husband, wife, and ourselves. She
has been kindly received by her friends, is living
with the mother of her husband, and has hopes
once more of fulfilling her duties as a wife, a mother, and a Christian.
Some of you may remember, at the first meeting
of the Society, one of our members spoke of having
visited some houses of immoral character, in order
to ascertain the sentiments of those women respecting the usefulness of such an Institution, and the
probability of their desiring to be benefited by it.
The first house at which we called was kept by two
sisters, one of whom we saw. In conversing with
her, she exclaimed, "You cannot imagine the horror
of mind that I feel when I lie down at night; but
what else can I do? no one would take me into
their family. I have lived six years in this house,
and have no character to sustain me in any other
situation." When we had been in operation about
six months, this woman came to us to know if we
would receive her. Under an agreement to submit to
more close regulations than we had then required
of any one, she became one of our family, and
was six months with us. She was one who might




88            REPORT, 1849.
truly be called a heathen; she knew not a letter in
the alphabet, and the words and spirit of the written
gospel were to her as though they were not. But
the Father had not left himself without a witness in
her soul, and that horror of mind that had shown
her the evil of her ways, had convinced her there
was something higher, better, and holier, that might
yet be attained. She became as a child in our
house, and faithfully performed the domestic duties
assigned her, and with persevering application attended diligently in the school, and evinced the
delight of a child as she marked her own progress.
She is now located in the family of a friend a few
miles from the city, and the accounts we have had
from her have been very favorable, both from them
and herself.
Within the past year one of our inmates has
married respectably, and gone West; another is
supporting herself by taking in sewing; two have
been received again by their friends, and are living
with married sisters, and a number are situated in
families where their good conduct entitles them to
respect, while the future opens brightly before them.
Three who have been under our care, are now church
members; two of our inmates became qualified to
work upon their own account, and have received a
compensation for their labor. About eight months
since, a mother brought her daughter to us, a girl
of seventeen, whose unrestrained habits had led her
into improper society. After some consideration,
we received her as an indentured apprentice, until
she was eighteen years of age. We have now the
satisfactory belief that we have rescued this child
from ruin, and the hope, that her future life will
atone to her friends for their past trials, and her




REPORT, 1849.               89
good conduct prove to the world, the benefits of a
year's residence in the " Rosine."
We consider an Act of Indenture in such cases to
have an excellent restraining influence, and believe
that if parents and others having such minors under
their charge would adopt the plan of this mother,
the children might in many instances be saved.
Amid our varied duties, we consider our missionary labors in the homes of these poor misguided
women as very important. We have paid upwards
of two hundred visits in such houses, and a number
of those with whom we there conversed have since
claimed our care and protection. It may appear
to some, that the benefits arising from these visits
may be few; but we must remember the progress
of truth is always slow-the seed must be sown
before it can bring forth fruits; and that Gospel
that was delivered by Jesus, thousands of years
since, is not yet fully received, even by professing
Christians. We may therefore feel encouraged,
though as formerly all are not prepared to receive
the proffered mercy; yet the Almighty has awakened many hearts to abandon their life of profligacy, and strive after better things.
In our reports, and at our meetings, we have
spoken of the necessity of an asylum, or low-priced
boarding-house, for women out of employ, until
situations or business could be procured for them.
We increasingly feel the necessity of such a home,
and in a few instances have had to give a temporary shelter to individuals, or cast the friendless
stranger into the street-although we are fully
sensible that our house is not the proper refuge of
virtuous women. Through our Intelligence Office
we have procured situations for one hundred and
8*




90            REPORT, 1849.
seventy-seven women and children, without including those who have been inmates of the Institution.
Upwards of three hundred applicants for situations
have had their names recorded, and many of them
have returned day after day, exciting our sympathy
by their looks and words of disappointment.
It appears by a communication received from
the Secretary of the Emigrant's Friend Society,
that they also have felt the necessity of a temporary "Home," or cheap boarding-house for emigrants, as there are no boarding-houses for such
persons except low dram-shops, where temptations
of various kinds beset the stranger, and the funds
that might support and convey them (if properly
managed) to situations in the country, where they
might be profitably employed, are drawn from them,
and in a short period they are turned upon the
public in a destitute condition. Under these circumstances the Secretary of the Emigrant Society
appealed to the Rosine Association, hoping to meet
with co-operation in this benevolent project. The
subject being laid before the managers, they resolved, that, as the Rosine Association, we could
not unite with the Emigrant Society; but, as individuals, we approved of their proposition for such a
"Home," and would be glad to aid them in their
much-needed enterprise. The plan of that society
embraces a temporary home for men and families;
while ours is only for women and children, who are
waiting for situations or employment.
Hoping that some of the wealthy and benevolent
individuals in this city may incline to appropriate
a portion of their funds towards forwarding this
object, we beg leave to revive the subject occasionally in your hearing.




REPORT, 1849.                  91
During the year, the school in the Rosine has
been continued, with great benefit to many of our
inmates. Some of our members have a Bible class
on the morning of the Sabbath. In the afternoon
a religious meeting is held; and on the fourth day
(or Wednesday) of each week, we have either a
ible-class or meeting. These meetings are attended by many of our members, and by persons
of different religious denominations, whose feelings
have been awakened to come and sit with the
Magdalen in the spirit and under the teachings of
Jesus.
The garments made for the family during the
year amount to                       400
For customers, including 49 dresses, 137
shirts, 31 chemises, 158 vests, 28 coats,
67 pairs of pantaloons, and sundry other
articles, numbering altogether -  -  -  601
Total number,  -  -    - 1,001
The amount earned in the work-room is - $325 61
We have received in subscriptions from
members,   -   -                  500 00
Annual subscriptions from gentlemen,  - 170 00
Interest on money loaned towards the purchase of the house,  -  -   -   - 138 00
Total,  -    - $1,133 61
This may be considered our regular income;
yet, owing to deaths, removals, and other circumstances, it must be subject to change.
In addition, we have received
By legacy from Deborah Phipps,  - - $95 00
From an unknown Friend, through the
Editors of the Inquirer,  -  -  -   5 00
From the fund for a set of plate for Gov.
Johnson,                           20 00




92              REPORT, 1849.
Anonymously, from different persons,  - $20 00
Solicited donations, by the Managers and
other Members,                     614 50
Total receipts, $1,888 11
Our expenses have been,Rent,   -- $400 00
Water-rent for bath-room, -  - 3 00
Salaries to officers, -  -  371 00
Clothing, &c., -  -   -     150 74
Marketing, groceries, &c.,  -  485 52
Advertising, and printing pamphlets, -  -               55 55
Shoes,   --                  16 25
Museum-rent for public meetings,                       7 50
Incorporation expenses, -    10 75
Carpenter-work,  -   -    -  36 40
Beds, bedsteads, and other furniture, -                  74 51
Painting, bricklaying, stationery, insurance, postage, locksmiths, and other incidental
expenses,  -   -    -   - 124 76
Balance of cash on hand, -  - 152 13
Amount collected --    $1,888 11
This statement shows our probable income to be
one thousand one hundred and thirty-three dollars,
sixty-one cents, while our expenses have been one
thousand seven hundred and thirty-five dollars,
ninety-eight cents; leaving a deficiency of six
hundred and two dollars, thirty-seven cents, to be
raised annually, if our expenses continue about the
same.
We have now the names of four hundred and
eighty ladies as members. If each member who
pays one dollar would double her subscription, or
interest a friend to become a member, we might




REPORT, 1849.                93
soon be relieved from the unpleasant necessity of
begging to support our family, and might then collect subscriptions towards purchasing our house,
and preparing (if it should meet the sanction of the
Society) to make the proposed effort for a temporary home, or asylum for virtuous women.
In addition to the above-named donations, one
of our subscribers paid for printing two thousand
copies of our semi-annual report, and we have received a number of contributions of coal, groceries,
soap, brushes, &c., which have lessened our expenses considerably.
When we opened our store, we placed in it one
thousand dollars worth of goods, and from that
period the accounts of the store have been kept
entirely separate from the treasury accounts. The
amount of sales have been about two thousand dollars. We are pleased to find our customers are
increasing, and hope another year will show an
improved business.
The close of the second year of the Association
awakens many reflections; and the retrospect of
the past time brings with it a solemn feeling, as we
again ask ourselves-what have we done?
We cannot expect ever to be able to do all that
we would; but the consciousness that the Divine
blessing has, in a degree, rested upon our efforts,
has cheered us onward, and we feel that as yet we
are but on the threshold of the great work to which
we are called. We believe the time to be coming,
when woman shall stand side by side with man in
every noble effort-that she shall cease to be satisfied with being his toy, or his slave-that she shall
require of him the same degree of purity that he
now claims from her-that she shall feel the busi



94             THE PLEDGE.
ness of life to be her business; and that man and
woman, as with one mind and one spirit, shall cooperate in the great and sacred duties of life, and
hand in hand go up to the House of the Lord.
THE PLEDGE.
Husband and I were sitting one evening very
cosily, talking over the events of the day, when the
bell rang, and we were told a gentleman desired to
see me at the door, but refused to come in. Accordingly, as he would not come to us, we went to
the door to him, and found a respectable-looking
young man there, who informed us he wished to get
an order for the clothing of A. C., who, we knew,
had left the Rosine some days previously, and returned to the house of B. (an abandoned woman),
with whom she had been living. He said, Anne
wished to leave the city, and needed her clothing.
We replied, she could not have them without she
came for them herself, and asked where she was?
The youth hesitated, seemed embarrassed, and then
said, he did not like to tell; but upon our informing
him that we knew where she was, he acknowledged
that she was at the house of B., and that he had become acquainted with her there. We then asked,
if he thought it right to frequent such places? He
unhesitatingly answered, "No, it is not right!"
" Why then does thee go there?" " Oh, only for
amusement!" "Does thee ever go to church?"
"Yes, I attend my church regularly!" "What good
does it do thee?" After reflecting a moment he said,
" I do not know that it does me any good!" " Does




THE PLEDGE.               95
it profit thee to frequent the house of B., and mingle
in the associations of such a place?" " No, it does
not!" "What then is thy reason for going to either
place?" "I do not know," he replied. It was a bright
moonlight right, and as the beams fell upon his face,
disclosing an intelligent countenance, our interest
was deeply awakened by his ingenuous replies, and
we felt urged to continue the conversation, and pointing upward we said, "If neither the church nor the
company at the house of B. have profited thee, would
it not be well to try to know something of the great
Church up there?" "Yes," he said, "it would!'r
We had then considerable conversation on the subject
of evil society, and the indulgence of bad habits; he
was told of the consequences that must result from
such a course, in the loss of time, money, character,
and health, and the final loss of both soul and body,
and a contrast was drawn between such a life, and
that of a man who, by correct habits, industry, and
economy, could prepare a comfortable home for a
virtuous, good wife, where he might realize true
domestic happiness, and by the moral elevation of
his character be entitled to rank among the best
men in the community. He acknowledged the
picture drawn to be a true one, and then said, "I
have never done any one harm; I have never
wronged anybody!" We rejoined, " Thy hand may
be unstained by murder; the world may consider
thee an honest man; the guilt of seducing a young
and innocent girl, may not be upon thy soul, but is
it much better to frequent such houses, and encourage practices that destroy the miserable victims,
and heap upon them that ignominy that is a living
death? It matters little how the unfortunate one
is placed there, whether seduced by man or woman,




96             THE PLEDGE.
or by her necessities,-her degradation is the same;
but let her be as low as she may, the man who associates with her is as low, and equally as debased.
The sin is not in the sex, but in the actions. Society
may excuse the man, and condemn the woman, but
in the sight of the Almighty, there is no difference
between them; the guilt is the same; and both are
on one level."  "I see it," said he, in a reflective
tone, that bespoke the inward monitor was impressing
his mind with the truth of the views thus unexpectedly
brought before him. Seizing the opportunity when
his feelings were thus awakened, we inquired, if he
had a mother? " I have!" "Is she a religious woman?" " She is!" "Does she feel interested for the
welfare of her son?" " She does!" "What would she
think were we to go to her, and tell her, her son frequented the house of the notorious B.?" " I would
not for the world she should know it!" said he, convulsively. " It is well to spare the feelings of thy
mother, but if she never knows it, there is an eye,"
(pointing upward aswe spoke), " from which nothing
can be hidden; that eye sees every act, and knows
every word and thought;" "I know it," he rejoined.
" But if thy mind was fully impressed with the consciousness of that, could thee dare visit such a place?"
"I did not think about it then." After some further
conversation, in which the subject of temperance
came up, we asked, if he had ever taken a pledge,
and upon his replying in the negative, we inquired,
whether he would be willing to sign one. Again he
hesitated. A contrast was then drawn between the
character and happiness of a sober, moral, good
man, and the wretchedness of a drunken, abandoned
profligate, and we closed by saying, as we pointed
to the bright sphere above us. "Let that moon




THE PLEDGE.                97
be the witness of thy resolution, that from this
night, the purpose of thy life shall be a right one;
that from this hour, evil companions and practices
shall be abandoned."  I will give you my pledge,"
said he, solemnly. " Then, come into the parlor!"
We entered, and he was seated by the centre table,
the large Bible was laid beside him, and his hand
placed on it (for we desired the scene to be as impressive as possible). He was told we did not wish
him to take an oath, for this Book said, "Swear
not at all, neither by Heaven nor earth, but let
your yea, be yea, and your nay, nay;" but we
wanted him to remember that he was in the presence of the Almighty, and that a pledge taken
there, would be equally as solemn as any oath in a
court of justice. The pledge was then written and
read, and he was desired to consider it seriously;
it might be a hard one to keep. " I will keep it,"
said he, firmly. He then repeated it, and signed
his name.
The whole conversation was serious, calm, and
impressive, and the latter part solemn, and deeply
affecting.
Here was a young man, who had come from the
house of one, " whose steps lead down to hell," and
who expected to return immediately there, arrested
suddenly in his career of vice, brought to a sense of
his condition by a stranger, at the street door; his
heart tendered, and brought to see the iniquity of
his conduct, and in the full consciousness of the
presence of the Almighty, made willing to enter
into a solemn promise of a change and amendment
of life. Some suitable tracts were given to him,
and he was urged to remember, that though he was
alpparently sent there by a bad woman, it was in
9




98            REPORT, 1849.
reality his Heavenly Father, who took this mode
of bringing him to a sense of his state and condition. He seemed to understand it thus, and we
parted, with expressions of gratitude on his part,
and feelings of the deepest interest on ours.
Our hearts were filled with wonder, love, and
praise, and we felt truly, "Lord, thy ways are
above finding out! thou workest by whom thou
wilt!"
A year had passed away, when one evening we
received a call from the same young man. He
came to tell us he had kept his pledge, and to thank
us for the interest we had shown for his welfare.
That evening he had grown a wiser-now, he was
a better man.
SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT OF THE -MANAGERS OF
THE ROSINE ASSOCIATION.
November, 1849.
Another period of six months brings us again
together, and the feeling that attracted us then
prompts every mind now to repeat the question,
What have we done? and with your Executive
Committee arises the same desire to reply, We have
done what we could? Some of us have been precluded by our situations from devoting as much
time to the work as we could have wished; but
others have remained upon duty, so that very few
days have passed without our Home being visited
by some of our number. It is indeed a labor of
love, and those who desire to be efficient must come
to the work, resolving to be ready in season, and




REPORT, 1849.               99
out of season, whenever duty calls. With some of
us it has been no butterfly employment. The cause
of humanity claims the industry of the bee, and
the perseverance of the spider of Bruce. Patience
must have its perfect work, and hope and faith be
our constant companions.  Yet we come to you
with a word of cheer. Many of those who have
been under our care are still pursuing the path of
rectitude; and upon some of their minds we have
reason to believe the Divine blessing has rested.
Several individuals have claimed our attention
that have not become inmates of our house; as in
some cases where there had been little exposure,
we deemed it best that they should remain unknown
to our inmates. To some of these we have given a
home in our own families, until an opportunity presented to gain for them suitable permanent situations. To this class we desire to call the attention
of our members. Many of us, perhaps, have known
individuals, or at least, known those who had erred
once, and who might have been saved, if a kind
hand, a soothing and encouraging word, and a
temporary asylum had been given them in their
hour of need; but lacking these, and feeling the
world was against them, remorse in their own minds,
and no sustaining power around them to buoy them
up, they have sunk into the degradation they
loathed, and became hopeless, reckless, and abandoned. Iere is our appropriate work. It is more
easy to reclaim from one error than many; and to
instil a high and noble principle in one who has deviated from the path of right merely because no
principle of right has been implanted, than to uproot the habits of years, and destroy the careless
hardihood which familiarity with vice must ever
present.




100           REPORT, 1849.
In our last Report we told you of one young girl
who at seventeen had been apprenticed to us by
her mother.   She had been led into improper
society, her friends could no longer control her, and
to save her from utter ruin she was taken to the
House of Refuge.   The managers there, with a
proper regard for the well-doing of the younger
children, refused to shelter her for more than a
short period. In her grief and hopelessness the
mother then turned to the Rosine. After due consideration, the managers concluded to receive her,
on condition of her being indentured until she was
eighteen. She was a child of ungoverned temper,
and wayward in the extreme; and at times, in her
fits of passion, had she not known we had power to
enforce obedience, we too, might for the period have
lost our control over her. There was often a trial
for our patience, and great opportunity for the
labor of love; but the year passed away. Three
months since she left us, and we have reason to believe her desires now are to act a daughter's part,
and in the bosom of her grateful family prove that
our exertions for her have not been lost. Seeing
thus the good effects of continued care in the cases
of minors, we have had four others indentured to
us, and we hope the result will be generally satisfactory, though we know, in such instances, great
responsibilities rest upon us; and when they are
brought by parents or friends, we cannot expect
them to have strong convictions of the impropriety
of their past conduct, and therefore have little repentance for the groundwork of amendment. But
we have faith in patience, forbearance, and kindness, and in the gradual influence of those principles
that we desire to inculcate, and that should mark
us, as examples to them.




REPORT, 1849.             101
One of these children is but fifteen years and six
months. She had been enticed from her home in
Jersey by the misrepresentations of a cousin, who
pretended she would procure a situation for her in
a family, with high wages and many advantages.
This cousin took her to a house of abandoned character, and then deserted her. Six weeks afterwards she was brought by one of our members from
the Prison, where she had been thrown on a charge
of abuse, by the wicked mistress of the miserable
mansion, where she had become the victim of the
basest crime. With her own entire consent, after
having been several weeks in the house, she has
been apprenticed to us by the Judge before whom
she was brought when on trial.
Another was lured from her father's dwelling by
a villain, and then left to mourn the folly of believing one who taught her disobedience. A young
man met her in the street, and- accosted her as she
was wandering about, homeless and unprotected.
He was one in whom a high sense of integrity
among men had been instilled, but whose friends
had probably given him no warning against the
most prevalent vice of the age. They had deemed
it immodest to tell him that his health, his physical well-being, his duties to man, to woman, and
to God, required his strict adherence to virtue.
Therefore he had sinned, not through ignorance that
it was sin, but his moral sense had been so little
impressed upon this subject, that he could excuse
himself to his conscience, because most young men
were equally guilty; and he hardly felt it as more
than a fashionable folly. He was " sowing his wild
oats;" and who, among all the ladies of his acquaintance, had looked coolly upon him, uttered a
9*




102           REPORT, 1849.
word of remonstrance, or given him a word of advice? Ah who? Yet even in his case there was
a good feeling at work, and Providence raised for
this poor child a friend to rescue her in an unexpected manner. Her youth, her beauty, her artlessness interested him, and awakened feelings he
was unaccustomed to.  She told him her simple
story. All night long he thought of it,-sleep was
banished. He compared her as she then was, to
the being she must become in the downward path
she seemed doomed to tread, and he was horrorstricken. This young creature, so guiltless now,
must she become the victim of every loathsome vice,
the companion of only the false and the depraved,
and lead a life of shame and misery, until disease
claimed his prey-probably in the almshouse or the
prison? He arose a better man. He had resolved
to perform a good action-to save, if possible, this
child who had wandered from her father's house.
He reasoned with her as his conscience prompted.
She felt his words were the words of truth, and she
consented to go anywhere he would advise, save to
her home. She thought there she had committed
the unpardonable sin. He made considerable effort
to place her in a suitable situation, but in vain.
His inquiries at last led him to the Rosine. He
asked and obtained permission for her reception.
She is now one of our children, and her father, since
then, has gladly ratified the contract made with us
by herself and this young man. May the good
resolutions he formed during that sleepless night be
sanctified to him, and may he be sensible that they
came not from himself, but that God talked with
him.




REPORT, 1849.             103
AN APPEAL TO MOTHERS.
Mothers, to you must we turn,-with you would
we plead for your own children. Are you performing your duties to them faithfully? Are you warning them against evil associations and immoral
practices?  Are you treating them  as rational
beings, acknowledging you are aware of the weakness and temptations of humanity, laying before
them their moral and physical responsibilities, and
teaching them that the violation of these laws are
sins against their Creator? Let no false modesty
keep you a stranger upon these subjects with your
children. Very early in life they know there is
some mystery to be learned, and if the judicious
mother does not, as an opportunity presents, speak
candidly and truly with her children, and thus
secure their confidence, they will gain their knowledge, most probably from corrupted sources, and
the poisoned stream run through their whole lives,
producing grief and misery, not only to themselves,
but to the mother also, who shrank from her duty
through a very mistaken view of the subject.
What would be your feelings, if you had reason
to believe that in consequence of your neglect to
impress upon the mind of your child the common
principles of honesty, he should steal from your
neighbor's daughter her purse, containing a thousand dollars that were to be her marriage portion,
and consequently he would be arrested, and thrown
into prison, and himself and family disgraced for
life. You would be overwhelmed with grief, and
lament unceasingly that any consideration prevented you from fulfilling a mother's part. But,




104           REPORT, 1849.
what is the theft of a thousand dollars, or of countless thousands, in comparison to the crime that son
may commit, in robbing her of the virtue that can
never be estimated by dollars and cents; that can
alone be known or measured by the omniscient eye
that sees her agony of spirit, when she sinks the
scorn of mankind, the victim to disease and intemperance, and dies upon the straw pallet in the poorhouse, or wrapped in her blanket on the floor of
the prisoner's cell. Mothers, here is work for you!
The reform of the age lies in your hands. Upon
your child's mind you may write what you will.
True, the good seed may sometimes seem choked by
briers, or cast upon stony ground. Yet we believe,
that though the child of the wise and pious mother
may be led astray, yet, in the hour of temptation,
her counsels may rise upon his memory, her warnings still his wild passions, and his mother's eye
(though perhaps thousands of miles away), arrest
his steps, subdue him in his mad career, and she be
thus the saviour of her child. The law would sentence him who stole the thousand dollars to years
of imprisonment, while the wretch who ruins the
happiness and corrupts the principles of one " who
is but a little lower than the angels," walks unscathed through life, and is called the good fellowthe gentleman. This plainly shows we estimate
money higher than virtue or happiness. We would
not associate with the thief, or admit him into our
houses or families, but the libertine is received into
the social circle. He who is a thousand-fold worse
than a thief is too often our companion, and the
friend of our husbands, our sons, our daughters.
Shall it continue to be so? Our fiat can make it
otherwise. Our refusal to speak to or associate




REPORT, 1849.              105
with such men would soon produce a change in
society. We must be consistent. It is vain to talk
of virtue, while our conduct shows we are insincere;
and that mother who seeks to train up a child in
the way he should go, must avoid the man of libertine practices as she would the serpent in her path,
or the child will not believe her, and reverence her
as a model of purity and truth.  We must be what
we wish our children to be.
Some of us may think our influence cannot affect
the world; we can do nothing in the way of reforming it: but, if we can implant proper principles
in the mind of our child, he may become the parent
of many children; and the good impressions made
upon him may be engrafted upon them, and thus
descend through many generations. In the meanwhile we are giving our example, our influence in
the circle around us, and we know not how many
minds may be operated upon by that example. A
ray of light through a pin-hole is small, yet it
diverges widely; thus the truth that is shown in
our life, however circumscribed our circle, may extend its impressions we know not where, and be reflected through innumerable beings,-influencing
each in their eternal welfare.
ENCOURAGING RESULTS.
Within the past six months the Rosine has received twenty-one inmates, which make the whole
number eighty-five since the house was opened.
Some of them, from various motives, have not had
strength to continue in the better way, and have
resumed their former mode of life. In several instances, after leaving, they have again sought ad



106           REPORT, 1849.
mission, showing, that though easily tempted to go
astray, yet the struggles of their better feelings
still prompted them to make another effort. To be
able to understand how they can return after once
escaping from such a course of iniquity, we must
remember that, in many cases, moral or religious
principles have never been instilled. These cannot
at once be engrafted, and, consequently, the criminality of their conduct does not appear to them as
to us. Many of them have never been taught to
work properly, therefore habits of industry must be
slowly acquired, and often distastefully.  They
have never submitted to control, and the necessary
order and restraints of our house are irksome to
be borne. They have felt they were held in society
as more degraded than their male companions, who
are equally guilty, and their hope is small of ever
being able to rise again in public estimation. Their
uncultured minds are governed alone by impulse,
while the shocking habits of inebriation and chewing snuff, in which they too generally indulge, to
deaden the mentality and awaken sensuality, draw
them back with (to them) an irresistible force.
But we have cheering evidences that our house
has been a blessing to some even of the most hopeless cases, apparently; and, were it proper, we
could refer to a number who show, by their continued good conduct and propriety of behavior,
that we have not labored in vain. The writer of
this Report was present last Sabbath at the baptism
of one of the early members of our family. She
had lived a number of years in improper habits,
but in the Rosine her feelings had been awakened,
and her spirit baptized into that repentance that
brings amendment of life, until she could truly say,




REPORT, 1849.              107
This to me has been ablessed house. She has now
been eighteen months living in the same family,
and their testimony is, that they believe she is endeavoring to walk in the footsteps of Him in whose
name she has given her vows to the church. Two
others who have been under our care, have also become church members, and another, who was fourteen months with us, has been restored to her
family, after being separated from them several
years, and we believe her desire is to be a consistent
Christian. Her friends joyfully acknowledge the
lost is found. One, of whom we have spoken as
being again received by her husband, and who,
during her separation, had become very degraded,
we learn is still doing very well; and another whom
we mentioned in our January Report, as having been
mistress of a house of ill fame for six years, and
who had been considered as utterly abandoned, is
still living in the country, and is considered by her
employers an honest, faithful domestic, of truly respectable character. We might tell you of several
others, who, by their continued industry and propriety of conduct, evince that they have been
snatched as brands from the burning, and with
gratitude own that the Rosine has been to them
father, mother, friend, and home.
We have lost one of our inmates by death, but
her repentance appeared to be so sincere, and her
spirit so peaceful during her latter days, that the
change seemed merely a translation from the sufferings of time to the enjoyments of eternity. We
have never witnessed a more solemn and interesting
scene, than when our inmates, forming a circle
around the coffined Magdalen, sang the hymn,




108            REPORT, 1849.
"Were not the sinful Mary's tears
An offering worthy Heaven,
When o'er the sins of former years
She wept, and was forgiven?"
One of our members spent, during the summer,
a few weeks visiting among her friends in New
Jersey. She knew that many who needed our care
were from that state, and therefore made an appeal
not only to the sympathies, but to the duties of
those residing in the country. Upon her return,
she delivered to the treasurer $54 25, collected
during this visit. Who of us can give a similar
account of our remembering and pleading for the
poorest of the poor in the season of our leisure and
recreation? She was not only doing good for those
for whom we labor, but to herself and all those whose
better feelings she awakened and led to reflect upon
their duties and responsibilities.
We have still occasionally to receive homeless
and friendless females under our care for a few
days, until situations can be procured for them, but
we have never counted such as inmates.
With great pleasure we announce to our members that a Society, to be entitled the Temporary
Home Association, has been formed, the object of
which will be to give a temporary home to women
out of employ, at a moderate board, where those
who are able and willing to work, but who are
without funds, may be received for a short period
until they can get situations, under the condition of
paying the stipulated board as soon as their circumstances will admit. This Society also proposes
to give a temporary shelter to destitute children,
of ages and circumstances to be placed in families.
Of the necessity of such a Home we have fre



REPORT, 1849.              109
quently spoken, and hail the formation of this Society as an important era, believing that the benefits
that may be derived from it can never be calculated. There are doubtless, at this time, hundreds
of women in this city in houses of ill fame, or living
in more private circumstances, who would still be
virtuous, respectable, and valuable members of the
community, had such a home been open for them,
where they might have been received in their hour
of desolation and friendlessness, and protected from
the temptations of evil associates, until employment presented to them a brighter hope of the
future.
But while we are endeavoring to make a provision for those who are homeless in our city, is it
not our duty to spread information throughout the
country, of the risks and dangers to which every
young woman is subjected in coming to the city to
seek employment. Of many it may truly be said,
" they know not what they do," when, for increased
amusements or wages, they leave their peaceful
country homes, and cast themselves into the temptations of an ever-fluctuating city. To our country
members and friends we would also say, does not
the ruin of these young women lie partly at your
doors? You are accustomed to consider your own
skirts to be clear, but we do not. You, with ourselves, have thought that it was immodest and improper to speak to young persons under our care upon
the subject of immoral conduct. We have, therefore,
implanted no principles of virtue, no detestation of
vice. We counsel them about honesty, for they
might steal from us if we did not. We warn them
about indulgence in many of their evil propensities,
for we might suffer from their outbreaks, but have
10




110            REPORT, 1849.
we labored to impress upon their minds the importance of purity in every thought, word, and
deed, and made them feel that the happiness and
usefulness of their whole lives depended on their
avoiding the first false step, or, perhaps, in allowing
personal freedoms, that may lead, however, indirectly, to it.
There is another subject to which we would call
your attention. It is the low wages given in many
parts of the country. This produces constant difficulty with the employers, and dissatisfaction with
the employed. Girls are consequently scarce in
the country; while hundreds, who come to the
city for higher wages, are led on step by step until
they receive no other than the wages of iniquity.
We desire to call attention to this subject, and believe our country friends will find an increased
salary will provide them with more settled domestics, and they will evince more fully that they consider the laborer is worthy of her hire, while many
young women will be retained in innocence and usefulness in their rural homes, who are now tempted,
unsuspecting the dangers in which they may be
surrounded, to cast themselves into this whirling
vortex, in which health, happiness, and virtue may
all be sacrificed.
In our missionary visits to houses of immoral
character, of which we have the record of 260, we
find a large majority of the inmates are from other
places. Many are from the South, but an alarming list could be made of the natives of our own
state, of New Jersey, and of Delaware.
Since our last meeting in this house, we have had
three others-one in the Northern Liberties, one in
Southwark, and the third in Camden. They were




PLEDGE NUMBER TWO.             111
held at the request of some of our friends, who believed that occasional meetings of the Society in
other neighborhoods would be beneficial, by spreading the knowledge of our operations, and enlisting
other women to labor in this cause. By these
meetings we gained an accession of forty members,
and have reason to believe an interest was awakened
in many minds that had heretofore reflected but
little upon the subject. We have now 530 members.
Among such a number of women, there must be
many well-qualified ones, who could spare some
hours to devote either to soliciting funds, paying
missionary visits in the houses, or uniting with us
in the labors connected with the Institution. There
are now some vacancies in the Board, and we hope
no false modesty will prevent such from offering
their services.  Their company and assistance
would also be highly valuable in our evening school,
and our Sabbath morning and midweek exercises.
We have no right to hide our light under a bushelno right to bury our talents in a napkin. All of us
are good for something, and it is only by using and
cultivating our gifts, be they large or small, that
we can expect them to increase, or be to the glory
of God.
PLEDGE NUMBER TWO.
Returning home one summer's afternoon from the
Rosine House, I passed down Wood Street, and
on my way saw a boy, about 12 or 13 years of
age, sitting on a door step, smoking. I have often
spoken to boys, and girls too, on the street, when
I felt I had a word for them, and on this occasion,




112       PLEDGE NUMBER TWO.
I was impressed to stop, and said to the boy, "What
a young lad to be smoking segars! Does thee think
it a good habit?" He replied, "It don't do any
harm!" "How many does thee smoke a day?" "Not
more than one commonly!" "Well, one a day comes
to 365 in a year; but I find if people begin on one
a day, they are apt after a while, to want more.
A great many persons smoke six, and I have heard
of some who smoked 20 a day. A young lad like
thyself, with good habits, may stand a chance to
live seventy years, and if thee should never use
more than one a day, I want thee to think how
many that would be in a lifetime, and how much
money they would cost, even in a few years. Now,
if all this money was saved, and placed at interest,
it would amount to quite a clever sum to help start
thee in business at the age of twenty-one, but if
it is all wasted in smoke, what good will it do
thee?"  "None at all," said the boy. While we
were thus talking, two other lads (who probably were
neighbors), came along, and seeing us conversing,
stopped to listen. After a few minutes, I asked
them, "Boys, do you smoke?" One replied he did,
the other, he did not; " But there," said one of them
(pointing up the street), "is a real fellow to
smoke'!" Immediately he called out, " Bill! Bill!"
but " Bill" not coming, he started off, and brought
the wondering lad to see what the lady wanted. I
then repeated our conversation, and told them
they " had seen the rowdy young men about the
streets, and these rowdies had all been boys like
themselves, and perhaps commenced on one or two
segars a day. But all bad habits grow rapidly
when there is no principle to correct them, and
lads who use segars, generally begin to grow thirsty,




PLEDGE NUMBER TWO.            113
and are apt to frequent taverns; this, of course,
leads to bad society, and soon they are seen lounging about the corners of the streets, annoying
persons; next, they frequent houses of bad character; get into mobs and fights; curse and use profane language, and after a little while they are
found in the prison. I often go there, boys, and
see good-looking young men shut up, who ought to
be a credit to the country, in consequence, perhaps,
of having, at your ages, learned to smoke one segar
a day, and giving way to the bad practices that
smoking may lead to afterwards, when, probably, if
the money thus wasted had been (as I told you),
saved, and put out at interest until they were of
age, it might have aided to put them into a snug
business, and a respectable position in society."
My young auditors listened with the most respectful attention, but looked quizzically at each
other occasionally, as if they thought it very singular for a stranger to be thus conversing with them.
Probably they had never been reasoned with on the
subject before, and were pleased to be considered
thinking beings. The idea was entirely new that
smoking a segar might lead to a life of dissipation,
and perhaps a prison. They had never before been
told that the use of tobacco destroyed the health,
operated on the nervous system, unfitted them for
business habits, and sometimes, was the means of
impairing their happiness and usefulness. Doubtless, this was news to them, but they understood
what was said, and appreciated it. They were
addressed in kind and familiar language, and they
saw their benefit was the object. After canvassing
the subject thus, I said, " Boys, do you ever taste
liquor?" The one who said he did not smoke, replied,
10o




114       PLEDGE NUMBER TWO.
that he was a Cadet of Temperance."  " I am glad
to hear that; but have you taken the pledge?"
"No," said the Cadet, "but I am willing to." "Now,
boys, will you all take a pledge that you will never
drink spirituous liquors, nor smoke another segar?"
The Cadet thought it useless for him to take a pledge
not to use tobacco, for he was sure he never would
do it. "But let thy intentions be ever so correct
now, there are always temptations to get into wrong
habits among young men, and many have not the
moral courage, when in society, to refuse what they
know to be wrong. To such the pledge may give
strength; and if a young man or boy can say,'I
have taken the pledge to abstain both from liquor
and tobacco,' it may prove a help to him, and when
his companions find he is true and firm to his good
resolves, they will soon respect him the more, and
reverence the virtue in him, which they are conscious they have not in themselves. Boys, will you
take it?" They looked hesitatingly at each other,
and the novelty of the whole affair interested them,
and I could see, as they stood silently, they were
pondering upon it. At last, the boy I had first
addressed, said, " I will take it!" "I will, too,"
added the Cadet. "And will you?" "Yes," said
Bill; "I sometimes smoke three or four a day, but
Icanquit! " "And I will, too," responded the last
one.
The four lads stood on the pavement before me,
and I then explained to them the importance and
solemnity of taking a pledge, and the responsibility
of keeping it. I told them 1 had no written pledge,
but we were in the presence of the Almighty, who
knew our thoughts, words, and actions, and HIe
was the witness to see this act, and record it. I
then repeated: "I solemnly promise, that I will




REPORT, 1850.              115
never drink spirituous liquors, nor use tobacco in
any shape." One after another, clearly and calmly,
the boys pronounced the words, and each, as he
finished, gave me his hand, to seal the compact. I
then told them my name, and where I lived, but
forgot until after we parted, that I had not inquired their names.
We may never meet again. Probably they will
not remember my name, but I hope the interview'ill be lest to'nhem in its consequences, ana be a
lesson to me to obey those intimations that may
lead without question, "to sow beside all waters"
in faith, trusting implicitly to the Lord of the
harvest.
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MANAGERS OF THE
ROSINE ASSOCIATION.
PHILADELPHIA, April 4th, 1850.
Within the past year, we have presented our.
members and contributors with our annual, semiannual, and a quarterly Report, and were we to
produce one monthly, we could scarcely then do
justice to all the topics that are connected, directly
or indirectly, with the important work in which we
are engaged, and which ought to claim our attention. In pursuing our reformatory operations, we
are necessarily led to investigate the causes of
crime, and trace its progress; and some of us, who
have visited most frequently the scenes of vice, and
are most familiar with the prisoner's cell and the
diseased sufferers in the almshouse, alone can tell
how much ought to be done, and how great is the




116           REPORT, 1850.
necessity (while we pray for the blessing to rest
upon our, own efforts) to ask, that the Father of
mercies may send more laborers into the field, and
awaken other minds, with more powerful energies,
to combat in the moral warfare, which ought to be
fought daily-not alone in what is considered the
haunts of vice, but by our own firesides, and in the
circles often directly around us.
Many persons have an indefinite idea that there
is a great deal of libertinism among men; but, if
the facts can only be kept private, no one feels it to
be their business to investigate; and thus the man
of dissolute habits is constantly received into what
is called good society, while his victims (who are
generally the sufferers, from poverty, ignorance,
and neglected domestic government) are cast out
by what appears to be destiny, but is in fact the
operations of that'same society that upholds the
equally or more guilty man, and treads upon the
weak and erring woman.
As a proof of the injustice constantly practised,
we will refer to a circumstance that has occurred
very lately. Two minors were discovered by their
father to be in the habit of visiting a couple of
young girls (one of them only seventeen), residing
in an imyQe bQi   e h o, Tbe fatJher, iTseetek f.  -
recting and improving the morals of his sons, proceeded to the residence of the unfortunate girls,
had them arrested and thrown into prison, where
one of our managers found them, and saw there, at
the same time, paying them a visit, one of the
young men on whose account they had been incarcerated. The opportunity was embraced of conversing with the youth, and showing him (what his
father evidently did not understand) that crime was




REPORT, 1850.              117
the same in both sexes, and that, if either party
deserved a prison, it was himself and brother, as
circumstances had placed them in a position in
which they had enjoyed the advantages of society
and education, of which the unfortunate partners
of their guilt had been deprived. There was at
the same period another girl in the prison, who had
been placed there on the same account by another
parent, while his equally guilty son was pursuing,
in unlimited liberty, his vicious propensities.
We ask not for more leniency towards crime, but
we ask for more justice. We ask society to place
the ban equally upon man and woman, while they
indulge in habits that sap the morals of the community-habits that are destructive to health,
domestic happiness, and to the well-being and
doing of those who ought to be contributors to the
general good, but who, by their corrupt practices,
become the curse and demoralizers of those around
them.
Here, then, is the work at the fireside-here is
the every-day duty. We must purify the atmosphere around us. We must instil principles into
our sons, that will make them abhor vice. Our
husbands, our brothers, our friends, must see that
we are pure in word and deed, and that only as
they assimilate with our feelings can they be dear
to us-and here we shall find is the place to plant
the moral standard. It is upon the family hearthstone.
Viewing it thus, and we believe it to be the true
philosophy, women have the morals of the community in their own hands. Napoleon said, "What
France needs, is mothers!" and we can say, what
the world needs, is mothers!




118           REPORT, 1850.
In the records we have collected of the unfortunate inmates of the Rosine House, we find very
few who have had the continued care of judicious
mothers. A large majority have lost or been separated from their parents in early childhood, and
have been cast upon those whose circumstances, or
their want of proper principles, prevented them
from bestowing what they did not themselves possess,-that consciousness of the ever-presence of
the Divine Being that can alone restrain the evil
thought or deed, and give the desire at all times to
walk and act purely and rightly. Mothers! in our
reports we have appealed to you before; and we
now solemnly call upon you to make every family
a moral reform society, and every domicile, where
you can exert an influence, an altar, sacred to virtue and purity.
We are told there are six thousand women in our
city, who are living lives of sin and shame; but
who can estimate the number of men who associate
with them, or the amount of vice and misery arising
from these depraving connections. In our missionary visits to the abodes of these unfortunates (of
which we have now paid nearly three hundred), we
have frequently met with men, with whom we have
conversed, and have endeavored to convince them
that, in our eyes and in the sight of the Almighty,
sex made no distinction-crime in both was the
same; and that they were equally as amenable to
the Divine law, and ought to be to the legal one,
as the poor outcast with whom they associated.
We have had some letters printed, addressed to
them, in which we have endeavored to awaken
their moral sense and their religious obligations.
The attention of our Board has also been drawn




REPORT, 1850.              119
to the condition of the children, particularly females, who are employed, either by their parents
or others, in peddling small articles through the
city. We believe such a life to be highly demoralizing, producing habits of idleness, and causing
such children to be surrounded by temptations
which leads them into every species of vice, and
almost prevents even the possibility of future integrity or usefulness. We have presented to the
Councils of our city a Petition, asking, that if
there be a law that will prohibit children from
being thus employed, it may be brought into operation; but, if there be none, that a suitable Ordinance may be passed. Our petition was favorably
received, and has been referred to the committee
on police affairs.
We are aware that many objections may be
raised, and the inquiry made, What is to be done
with these children? We would answer, let there
be a Temporary Home for such, where they can be
placed under good influences until they can be apprenticed into suitable families. We emphatically
say apprenticed, as we believe that the present
plan of hiring children has a very injurious tendency, as housekeepers generally feel no responsibility resting on them to educate or instil principles into the child that is only hired; while, on the
other hand, the child feels her independence, is difficult to govern, and prematurely becomes her own.
mistress, without knowledge or wisdom to direct
her, and too frequently falls a victim, not to her
vices, but to the mismanagement of those who
ought to know that childhood needs the steady,
firm government and continued care of just principles and loving hearts.




120           REPORT, 1850.
While we recommend that these children should
be apprenticed, that they may be judiciously cared
for, we are aware that the prejudice against their
being indentured has arisen in a great degree from
the belief, that children are often cruelly treated
who are thus situated. We would therefore plead
with housekeepers to remember, that we are as accountable to society and to our Creator for these
children (while under our care) as for our own, and
that their future happiness and usefulness depend
upon their proper training. The educational, the
kind, the gentle influences which we may throw
around them, may qualify them for respectable
stations in life; and the coming years, with their
abundant harvests of good fruits, may repay us
fully for the patience and forbearance which the
waywardness of youth may have occasioned us to
exercise. Parental fondness often blinds us to the
faults of our own children, while the same errors
committed by the foster-child excite in us only
condemnation. Have we not reason to pray continually that in us, individually, the passage may
be realized: "From her mouth proceedeth wisdom,
and on her lip is the law of kindness."
In the late report of the chief officer of the New
York Police, a most sad and frightful picture is
drawn of the numbers and habits of the vagrant
children in that city. In Boston, the chief marshal has made similar statements. We have not
been able to obtain any statistics of such children
in Philadelphia; but, our frequent riots, and the
report that we have six thousand women living degraded lives, bring sufficient proofs that the childhood has been wrongly passed, that has led, in a
more advanced age, to habits of crime, that shock
every right feeling, and disgrace our city.




REPORT, 1850.              121
We have always been strongly impressed with
the importance of education as a preventive of evil,
and the statistics of the Rosine bring us additional
evidence. In-the whole number of inmates, one
hundred and eight, who have been under our care,
not one has been highly educated, and only three
knew the multiplication table perfectly when admitted. The listless vacancy that is the result of
ignorance, is a very productive source of vice, as
the mind, if not properly trained and occupied, will
crave unrestrained and improper indulgence, and
the animal faculties will predominate over the mental. Great effort is now being made to increase
the number of schools for young men, whose early
education has been neglected. For these exertions too much praise cannot be awarded to Judge
Kelley and his associates, but the subject ought
pot to rest here. The annals of our inmates show,
that the same causes produce like effects in men
and women; and the deficiency in mental, moral,
and religious culture, which in the man produces
intemperance, fighting, rioting, vicious associations,
and finally leads to the prison and almshouse, operates with equal force upon the female mind, and
thus our houses of immoral character are increased
and filled with women, who, with very rare exceptions, exhibit a degree of ignorance which is disgraceful in this age to any community.
Of the one hundred and eight who have been
under our care, twenty-nine did not know their
letters; seventy-nine could read some at their entrance., but of that number very few sufficiently
well to make reading a pleasure; forty-eight could
not write, but had to make their mark.
In presenting this statement, we desire to call
11




122           REPORT, 1850.
attention to the subject, and ask those in whose
hands the power lies, if something cannot be devised
to introduce a more general degree of education
among the poorer classes. Every child, male and
female, ought to be considered the child of the state,
and if the parents or guardians cannot, or will not
give them a sufficient degree of education to qualify
them for usefulness, and develope their faculties,
the state ought to claim them for a certain period,
and bestow upon their mental and moral culture, a
large portion of the funds that are now appropriated
to prisons and courts of justice. We believe a
much smaller amount wisely employed, would train
our youth for respectability and usefulness, than is
now appropriated to support our police, the courts,
the prisons and the almshouses. Pennsylvania
should only need these institutions for emigrants,
who have been placed under less favorable circumstances.
To remedy, as far as was in our power, the evils
of ignorance, we have insisted on all our inmates
attending the school, and the progress of many has
been pleasing to themselves, and to us. A young
girl, who six months since was brought from the
prison, in her fifteenth year, who did not know her
letters, and was quite ignorant of sewing, during
that period has learned to read tolerably well, is
improving in her writing, and can now cut, fit, and
make a dress, in a manner that would be creditable
to an experienced mantua-maker. Every girl who
stays six months in the house, can (if she will)
enjoy the same advantages, and make equal progress, while at the same time, she may be initiated
in housewifery. A person in our employ, teaches
Ladies, "Fowler's System of Dress Cutting, by




REPORT, 1850.              123
measurement." Our inmates have also the advantage of her instructions, and of understanding the
art scientifically, and let their situations in life be
what they may, they can (if they choose), be competent to make dresses for themselves and others.
In the review of our operations during the past
year, we have had, as we must ever have in this
work, many occurrences to try us and prove our
faith and patience; but while we see an increasing
number circling around us, who have been in our
Institution, and are now placed in respectable
families, where they are a credit to themselves, and
to us, we feel encouraged to make renewed exertion,
and ask again and again for wisdom to act rightly,
and for gratitude that our efforts in so many instances have been so successful.
Within a few weeks, one who was under onr care
fourteen months, has been respectably married.
Her mind during that period appeared to be religiously affected, and when she returned to her
relatives (from whom she had been separated several
years), she became connected with the Methodist
Church. The young man she has married was a
member of the same class, and a connection thus
formed, promises well for the future happiness of
both parties.
The writer, ten days since, visited a friend in the
country, who has one in her family who left the
" Rosine" eighteen months since. Her bright and
happy face spoke its own testimonial, as she welcomed her former friend, and the lady with whom
she lived acknowledged she had never had a more
kind and capable girl in her house. She feels she
is to her a treasure, while by the general propriety
of her conduct, she has won her way into the affections of every member of her family.




124           REPORT, 1850.
While writing this passage, a young woman called
who was formerly an inmate, but who has been
several months living with a widow lady. Her
tears flowed freely as she spoke of her past life, and
of her gratitude to those who she considered had
saved her, and laying her hand on the Bible beside
her, she said, " the Almighty knows in the future
I only wish to do right-I wish to take that pledge."
Solemnly then, upon the book she made her promise. May the Power she then invoked, enable her
to keep the resolutions of that hour.
Another, to whom we referred in a former report,
as having been six years mistress of a noted house,
after spending seven months in the " Rosine," was
placed with some friends in Jersey. In consequence
of her continued good conduct, we have received
from one of the family, twenty-five bushels of potatoes, and within a few days ten bushels more from
a neighbor of the first donor, who had also become
satisfied, that the benefits arising from the Society
to such individuals, can only be estimated by Him
who holds the balance. Through the kindness of
other friends, we have been supplied with nearly all
our vegetables during the winter.
In our various reports, we have spoken of the
necessity of a " Temporary Home," where respectable women who are friendless, but who are able
and willing to work, may be sheltered and protected,
until employment can be procured for them. Our
knowledge of this necessity has come gradually
upon us. We discovered that some of the Intelligence Offices in our city were in the pay of persons
who kept immoral houses, and that young and innocent girls, inquiring for situations, were sent to
these houses, and thus led to ruin. In other cases,




REPORT, 1850.              125
they have wandered from house to house, inquiring
for employment, until faint, discouraged, and disheartened, they have entered the only doors that
seemed open for them. Many women came to the
Institution telling their friendless and homeless
condition, and when we informed them our house
was not the proper home for them, they have begged
to be allowed even to lie upon the floor, as the
watch-house, or a worse place must be their only
resort, if we refused them. Under these circumstances, we have had to give them shelter until we
could provide them with places, and in several instances, we have taken them to our own homes; but
such individuals have never been considered as inmates, or subjects for the Institution.
With the knowledge of these facts, came the feeling of the necessity of a suitable Intelligence Office.
We accordingly opened one, and have received applications for situations from nine hundred and
ninety-seven women. Of these we have procured
homes for five hundred and sixty-four. But there
were still four-hundred and thirty-three, for whom
we could not get employment. We knew there
was work enough in the country for all of these, if
we could give them a " Temporary Home," and
establish a communication through the different
sections of our own, and the neighboring states, by
which both parties might become aware of the necessities of each other.
With this view, some of our members called a
public meeting to consider the subject, and the result has been, the formation of the TEMPORARY
HOME ASSOCIATION, for the benefit of friendless
women and children. This society, though springing thus from the " Rosine," is entirely unconnected
11*




126           REPORT, 1850.
with it, and stands upon independent footing. Upwards of a hundred women have become members
of it, and twenty-two hundred dollars have been
collected towards the sum of five thousand, with
which they propose to commence operations.
These facts prove, that the energies and labors
of the " Rosine" members have not been confined to
the inmates of our house. Our aims are both prevention and remedy! We entered into the work
when and where Providence opened the way, and
we have endeavored to be faithful, as the performance of other duties opened before us. We
have not chosen our path, but humbly acknowledge
we have been led along by that Hand, that saw fit
to choose his own instruments for his work of
mercy.
The reformation of women is particularly the
province of women, and through their influence
alone, can we expect those who have deviated from
virtue, to be again restored to a respectable station.
Men may shelter, feed, clothe, and give moral and
religious instruction, but every woman knows she
can only be upheld and supported by her own sex;
the formation and operations of this society give
the repentant wanderer the surest promise that
she will be sustained in her upward and onward
efforts. With pleasure we perceive, that those who
have gone from the Institution into fanilies to live,
show by their conduct a continued affection, as they
return to visit the family whenever circumstances
will admit. They had felt perhaps for years, that
they had no home, but the social affections had not
died in their hearts, and the Rosine has been to
them home, parents, and friends.
At our quarterly meeting in October, we received




REPORT, 1850.              127
letters from two who had been under our care, but
who have been living in families, one a year, and
the other two years. In these letters they expressed
their gratitude, and asked permission to become
members of the Society, that they might assist, by
contributing to the funds, in doing for others,
what had been done for them. The one who left
us two years since, besides clothing herself comfortably, has placed forty dollars of her wages in the
saving fund. Another, who has been living in one
family nearly two years, and who has become a
church member, is now a subscriber to the " Christian Advocate," and another religious journal.
These are the right kind of evidences. When we
see a desire to do good to others, and to cultivate a
literary and religious feeling in themselves, instead
of spending, as formerly, their ill-gotten means in
gaudy ornaments and riotous living, we must feel
that Providence has blest the work, and opened the
eyes and minds of some who walked in sin, and
made them see that the paths of virtue are the ways
of peace and pleasantness.
Some persons imagine a house of reformation
should be a species of prison, but we believe that
the influences of a suitable private family, are
more healthful than a continued seclusion, after an
individual is properly prepared to enter such a
home, and we therefore cannot name any particular
period as necessary for them to continue in the
Institution, but feel we must judge by the circumstances of each case.




128              REPORT, 1850.
The number of garments made in the
house for the use of the family during
the past year, is  -   -   -           297
For customers, 77 dresses; 15 vests; 43
pairs of pantaloons; 67 shirts; 50
chemises; 56 quilts; 43 sheets; 14 pillow cases; 108 sun bonnets; 25 pairs
of drawers; 28 mantillas and sacks;
29 coats; sundries, numbering 73,
making a total of                      628
Whole number of articles made, -  -      925
Our expenses have been, during the year,
for rent, salaries, clothing, marketing,
&c., -   -    --                  1,522 82
Loaned to Rosine Store,  -   -    -   260 68
Cash on hand,   -   -                  50 11
$1,833 61
Our receipts have been, for work done in
the house, -   -                   $261 79
Annual subscriptions from members,  -365 00
Annual subscriptions from gentlemen,  254 00
Donation from Fanny Kemble, -      - 200 00
Subscriptions collected by R. Wainwright,  54 25
Interest on loan, towards the purchase of
the house,  -       -               168 00
Donations solicited or received by the Managers,    -   -                 - 530 57
$1,833 61
This statement shows our income is still insufficient to meet our expenses, and we have been forced
to solicit contributions in both goods and money.
Those only who have been collectors for other societies, can realize the unpleasantness of the task,
and understand the effort required to raise the
amount of five hundred and thirty dollars, besides




REPORT, 1850.              129
articles of merchandise, to meet the necessities of
the family. Providence has opened the hearts of
many to respond to our call, and we have received
donations in coal, oil cloth, zinc, groceries, queensware, crackers, soap, starch, shoes, dry goods,
drugs, and stationary. The printers' have also
exhibited their usual kindness and generosity, and
Drs. J. D. Griscom, H. S. Patterson, Henry T.
Child, and George Truman, have bestowed their
attendance gratuitously.
We have thus been enabled to support the house,
and trust that the hand that placed us in this work
will still open sources of revenue to maintain it.
But we look not for miracles. We know that the
industry of our inmates ought to pay a due proportion of our expenses, but many of them come
to us very ignorant, and are mere learners while
they are in the house. As soon as they become
good work-women, if we think they are otherwise
prepared, we place them in situations as suitable
families present, that they may earn the bread of
independence, and feel the responsibility of endeavoring by continued effort, to win that character
that will enable them to find homes and means
wherever they may be located.
Our annual subscription list might readily be
increased, if every member would feel she was a
collector for the society, and invite her friends,
male and female, to become subscribers.   The
Managers would thus be relieved from the necessity to which they have been subjected, of soliciting
funds.
If they fulfil their duties as they should, they
will see far more to do than they can accomplish
without being collectors. We have paid nearly
three hundred visits to immoral houses, and this we




130             REPORT, 1850.
feel to be the true missionary work. Here is the
spot in which we should labor. The heathen at our
doors are to be converted. Christian men and women, will you not help and sustain us? There are
women in your city who think they would commit
a sin to go to church; that a prayer from their lips
would be a profanation and mockery; yet the name
of their Maker is uttered hourly, not in prayer or
praise, but in disgusting oaths, and awful blasphemies. The game of cards, and the drunkard's revel,
are the daily opiates to drown thought. And where
are the mothers laboring to prevent this evil?
Where the missionaries to present the remedy?
Have they gone to the banks of the Ganges? Sisters! this is our mission! Let us ask the Father,
that he will qualify us to work in his vineyard.
The field is truly white unto harvest! Both souls
and bodies are to be gathered.
Father, give us strength and wisdom,
To discern, and do thy will;
Purify us for thy mission,
Self subdue, and love instil.
Father! we have had thy blessingStill, thy blessing would we ask!
Make us better-truer-purerFit us for the Christian's task.
Thou hast opened here before us,
Where the path of duty lies;
Where immortals may be gathered,
Trained and cultured for the skies.
With thy arm beneath-around us,
We have toiled and knew no fear!
Still we crave thy help, thy blessing;
All is safe when thou art near.
Our members and subscribers are requested to
pay their annual contributions, at the store of the
Rosine House, as soon as convenient after the
Annual Meeting.




REFLECTIONS.                  131
REFLECTIONS BY MY MOTHER'S BEDSIDE.
Occasioned by hearing her say, a few days before her death,
that she felt " as in the wilderness." These lines seemed to
dispel the misty feelings that clouded her mind, and were succeeded by a state of peaceful quiet, and unwavering faith, that
soared beyond the bounds of time, and brightened her dying
eye, as she exclaimed, "Lord, let now thy servant depart in
peace I"
The Wilderness-the Wilderness
Is not a dreary place;
Amid its countless sands we still
God's mercies ever trace!
The desert rock, the desert plain,
May seem both bleak and bare,
The barren heath seem void of life,
Yet God is even there!
The storm may come, the, wind may howl,
The lightning rend the sky,
The thunder roll fiom pole to pole,
Yet God is ever nigh!
Where through creation can we turn,
To what wild savage spot,
By sea or land, from clime to clime,
And find where He is not?
In every leaf and flow'ret wild,
In insect, beast, and bird,
In every pebble stone, and shell,
His holy voice is heard!
Then why in human hearts alone,
Is felt a dreary void,
And why, when all around is good,
Is man alone alloyed?
Why, in the Temple, where His love
Most wondrously is shown,




132             REFLECTIONS.
Is found the only taint of sin,
The want of faith alone?
The bird that leaves the chilling clime,
And seeks a warmer home,
Doubts not the Spring will bloom again,
And brighter days will comeReturning then, in trustful faith
She builds her little nest,
Fulfils the duties of her kind,
And leaves to God the rest.
But we (with reasoning powers endued,
And favored far above
All nature round), yet sometimes doubt
His wisdom-goodness-love.
We know that rain and storms but give
To verdant beauty birth,
And streams that overflow their banks,
Enrich the drinking earth.
Thus is it with our inward man,
Yet feeble, weak, and frail,
We cannot see the hand of love,
That guides each swelling gale.
When chilling winds, and wintry storms,
Around our path prevail,
How oft the sinking spirit feels
Its trustful courage fail.
Impatient nature ever longs
To draw the veil aside,
Dispel the clouds that shroud the sun,
And all his glories hide.
Oh! could our spirits always feel,
Tho' darkness reigns around,
That God is with us through the night,
And in the cloud is found.
Oh! could the heart, in trustful faith,
Calmly await the day,
Nor think the night-dews linger long
Upon our weary way.




REPORT, 1851.               133
Lord! give us patience, faith, and hope,
And lead us as thou led
Thine Israel through the wilderness,
And over Jordan's bed.
And make us feel, the Wilderness
Is as a garden fair,
The desert, with Thy glory filled,
Thy presence, everywhere.
The storm, the cloud, the barren heath,
Alike thy wisdom show;
Thy finger rules the worlds above,
Thy love, the world below.
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MANAGERS OF THE
ROSINE ASSOCIATION.
Managers:-President, Annis P. Furness, Pine,
seven doors beyond Broad St.; Vice-President,
Sarah Tyndale, 22 Prune St.; Treasurer, Mira
Townsend, 101 Arch Street; Secretaries, Mary
M. Hastings, 24 N. Schuylkill Eighth St., Lydia
Gillingham, 54 N. Fifth St.
Ann S. Campion, 27 Branch St.; Susanna Lower,
253 N. Seventh St.; Mary R. Wetherald, Camden;
Lydia Longstreth, 272 N. Third St.; Elizabeth
Pugh, Germantown; Rachel Wright, 273 Green
St.; Ellen Lord, West Penn Square; Esther Hancock, 100 Wallace St.; Anne M. Needles, Twelfth
and Race Sts.; Sophia Lewis, 119 Wood St.;
Elizabeth Hunt, Fifth below Green; Sarah J.
Webb, 244 Green St.; Margaret Skillman, 94
Wallace St.
12




134           REPORT, 1851.
PHILADELPHIA, April, 1851.
In meeting again with our members and friends,
we naturally revert to the subjects most likely to
interest them, and the questions they would most
probably be desirous to ask. What is your progress? Your actual success? Are you encouraged
to persevere in your efforts? To these questions,
some of us who have been the longest in the work
can reply, we have met with some who had not
strength to persevere in their good intentions, but
this has not discouraged us. When this Association
was formed, we were aware of our own weakness;
we knew we made many good resolutions, which
time, or even trifling circumstances, induced us to
abandon; how then could we expect more firmness
and stability, more perseverance in the path of
rectitude, among those who had never known or
felt the advantages and good influences that had
surrounded us, and had been as supporting angels,
whispering to us of love and kindness, of truth and
purity? We knew well, that to many who would
come under our care, these gentle voices were
almost unknown; with them impulse had been the
governing power, their reasoning faculties had been
little cultivated, and religious influences were
almost unknown. Yet with all these discouraging
facts, after the experience of three years and a
half, we can truly say, we are not discouraged.
We consider this a great, a glorious work, and can
only lament that we have not more time and energy
to devote to it. When we consider the situation of
many unfortunate young women, who have been
brought up, as it were, in the bosom of iniquity




REPORT, 1851.             135
from childhood, for in some of the streets of our
city, the very atmosphere seems impregnated with
drunkenness and debauchery, can we wonder at the
lowness of the moral standard, and must we not
rejoice in the knowledge, that even some of these
can be elevated, that they can pass through the
moral regeneration that will snatch them from this
state of crime and degradation, and place them,
where they may sit "clothed in their right mind,"
the good, the noble, the generous feelings of their
natures developed, and their aspirations awakened
after all that is high and holy. And this we believe has been verified in some instances. Some of
our first inmates were those to whom the prison
cells were familiar, who had passed through every
degree of crime, who were truly nuisances in the
community; and now these women are filling respectable stations in life, the stigma of reproach
has passed from them, the Church has acknowledged them as Christians, and the approving
voices of their own consciences bring them a happiness previously unknown. With some of these
the language has repeatedly been, "The blessed
Rosine!" One who had lived a number of years
in violation of the moral laws, in speaking to one
of our managers a few days since remarked, "Before I went to the Rosine, I felt as if I were living
in a tomb; all that was good seemed dead within
me; I had no hope; I believed there was no possibility of rising to a higher state. The first ray
that dawned upon me, was from the words of one
of the Managers of the Rosine, who visited the
house where I was staying. I grasped the hope,
and went to the Rosine. More than three years
have passed since then. I am now housekeeper in




136           REPORT, 1851.
a wealthy family, where I am respected and am
happy. I have as good clothing as I desire, am a
member of a church, and now expect to place part
of my wages at interest, to provide for a future
day." Another of our first inmates who had spent
two years in a prison, and had returned to the same
evil way that led to her incarceration there, was
brought by one of our managers from a house of
most notorious character, to the Rosine. Upon
leaving there she was placed in a worthy family,
where her good resolutions were strengthened, and
her hope and faith encouraged. Thus sustained,
she has won golden opinions from all around her,
and a most affectionate interest endears her to those
with whom she has been living. She, who in her
years of dissipation never laid by a farthing, has
now fifty dollars in the saving bank. Another,
who was formerly under our care, has married very
respectably within the past three months, and has
gone to housekeeping with every prospect of doing
well. She is the third of our children who has
married worthy and respectable young men. The
first one who entered, upon opening the Rosine
House, staid with us fourteen months. She was
then received by her family. Soon after she became a member of a church, and has since married
a young man a member of the same church. Her
history was known to some of the ladies of that
congregation, and with her, they have entered into
the work of visiting houses of immoral character.
We have now in our institution a girl of seventeen,
who was brought from a house of that kind through
the missionary efforts of this woman, and who has
been indentured to the managers by her mother, as
the only means of saving her. Two others, who




REPORT, 1851.               137
were formerly apprenticed to us when about seventeen years of age, under similar circumstances,
staid their time, behaved exceedingly well, and are
now acting in a manner entirely satisfactory to
their friends. We mentioned in our report of last
year, that we had received donations of thirty
bushels of potatoes, in consequence of the good
conduct of one who had been six years the mistress
of a noted house. During the past winter, we have
received five bushels more from the same source.
One of the first objects of our care was placed in a
worthy family in moderate circumstances. They
thought they could not afford to give her more than
seventy-five cents wages, but as the home was
desirable in other respects, she went there. She
has now been with them three years, has become a
member of the Methodist church, and though she
has been offered $1 25 per week in other situations,
still stays with them. In speaking with one of us,
she said, " They took me, when perhaps no one else
would; they have always been kind to me; the
lady is in delicate health, and might not get any
one to suit her. I know they cannot afford to pay
me more wages, but I owe them such a debt of
gratitude that I cannot leave them." We might
multiply sketches of such cases, which cheer us on
to increased efforts, but we will only add, that
among our first inmates are seven who are now
placed in respectable positions, where they are enabled to contribute to the funds of the Society, and
having expressed a desire to become members, their
names have been presented to the Board of Managers, and they have been unanimously elected members of the Association. This fact is truly cheering
when we consider, that all of these women, when
12-*




138           REPORT, 1851.
they first came under our roof, had been living in
open violation of the laws of both God and man,
they had been without hope, banished from the
society of the good and the virtuous, the influences
of the Bible and the church were equally unknown,
and the game of cards, the nauseous snuff, and the
intoxicating draught, were the constant resorts to
drown thought, and enable them to endure existence. Other associations can point to those whom
they have benefited, and say, " See what we have
done!"  But the object of our Institution is not to
blazen forth to the world that we have saved such
or such a woman, but quietly and unobtrusively to
throw good influences around her, convince her she
has duties to perform in life, that the upward path
is open to her, and qualify her as far as we are able
to join in the world's work, and then send her
forth, with the memory of the past buried in her
heart, to start afresh, determined to win for herself
the rewards of honest labor, and the approval of a
good conscience.
We have had many proofs of the benefits arising
from our visits among these unfortunate beings. A
few days since, two of our managers were called
upon by a fine-looking young woman, who they recognized as one they had visited eighteen months
before, as the mistress of a house of bad character.
She was of respectable family, had married foolishly
in her fifteenth year, against the will of her friends,
and was soon deserted and thrown upon her own
resources. Thus situated, she became the prey of
the spoiler; step by step she learned the iniquities
and sorrows of a life of crime, and finally, as the
mistress of an abode of infamy, was visited by two
of our members. In her late call upon them, she




REPORT, 1851.              139
said, "Until you conversed with me, I had not
thought of the possibility of a return to respectable life; no one had ever spoken to me as you did;
your words went to my heart; in one week after
your visit I left the house, resumed my own name,
and have since supported myself by my needle; I
have met with great difficulties and deprivations,
but nothing shall ever tempt me again to crime."
We feel constantly the necessity of more laborers
in this widely extended field, and regret extremely
that the time of our managers, which ought to be
spent in the Rosine House, in visiting the homes of
these sadly erring ones, and in attending the many
calls to the prison and almshouse (which appears to
some of us to be a peculiar duty), should have to
be devoted to going round to collect our subscriptions, and begging funds to maintain the Institution. It would be a particular kindness and relief
to the managers, if those who are willing to contribute to this important institution would call upon
one of them, or at the store of the Rosine House,
and leave their subscriptions.  The managers
acknowledge with the truest feeling the sympathy
and kindness they meet with in making their collections, and are assured there is in the community
a sufficient appreciation of the necessity and benefits arising from this Society, to be willing to support the Institution nobly, and release the managers
from the unpleasant necessity of begging from door
to door.
In referring to the causes that keep these poor
unfortunates from reforming, and sometimes draw
them back into the sinks of iniquity, we find the
most prominent, is the indulgence in liquor, which
may truly be said to be the greatest curse in the




140           REPORT, 1851.
community. Two of our members, in spending a
day at the Moyamensing prison, visited fifty women,
and upon inquiring into their cases, found only two
of them who had not been committed, either from
having been drinking themselves, from being with
intemperate persons, or in houses where liquor in
some way was the foundation of their difficulties.
In spending another day in the prison, they visited
about seventy women, and found only five of the
number, who by their own confession, had not become inmates there from drinking themselves, or
associating with inebriates. When will our legislators look at this subject in the proper light, and
feel the necessity of a law which shall close every
dram-shop, and only permit this bane of society to
be sold, when prescribed by a respectable physician.
From a report just issued by the Managers of
the Iouse of Refuge, we find the committals there
during the past year, have been 231 white children,
and 148 colored. Could we investigate the histories of these children, we believe there would be
few cases in which intemperance, or kindred evils
in the parents, had not been the primary causes of
their offspring becoming the tenants of the Refuge.
Many young women who have been under our care
have formerly been inmates of the Refuge.
During our visits at the prison, we have felt most
forcibly the necessity of another institution. We
find many women there (frequently the mothers of
families), who are notorious drunkards, and who,
even with a babe at the breast, are continually
changing places from the dram-shop to the prison,
and who, sometimes after being discharged, are
again apprehended and returned to the prison,




REPORT, 1851.             141
before they reach their miserable homes and
deserted children. These women are not the proper subjects of a prison. They have committed no
other crime than yielding to the temptations which
our injudicious laws permit in every square to be
laid before them. Ought we not then to labor for
a change in these laws, and to make an effort to
reclaim these inebriates, by promoting an association that will open a house of industry, where
drunkards, both male and female, shall be taken
when arrested, and employed usefully, instead of
confining them in idleness, to be still more depreciated in their moral character by the depressing
effect of inactive seclusion, and the disgrace of
having been inmates of a prison. Such an institution properly conducted, where every man and
woman should be placed when apprehended for
intoxication, and there forced to labor, and the proceeds therefrom applied to the maintainance of
their families, would be a blessing to the community. The expected vacation of the present House
of Refuge, will present a suitable opportunity to
try the experiment in that building, and leave our
prison to be tenanted only by criminals. Of 155
women who have been inmates of the Rosine, 77
have been in the habit of drinking, and many
others acknowledged they had occasionally resorted
to the intoxicating glass. Indeed it is a common
remark among them, that no woman can lead an
immoral life without resorting to liquor. Another
fruitful source of temptation to break the moral
law, we feel bound to recall before our friends continually-It is the low price of women's labor. An
excellent young woman who is industrious, and a
well-qualified seamstress, but whose health will not




142            REPORT, 1851.
permit her to engage in housework, has been
making shirts for one of our stores all winter. She
made the bodies and sleeves, for which she received
25 cents.  They were required to be done neatly,
and she has been forced to work in the evenings to
make six per week, bringing her only $1 50. She
could not procure respectable board for less than
that sum, which left her without one cent for shoes
or other necessaries. Her health has been much
impaired by going to the shop without suitable
clothing, no hour of rest or relaxation could be
taken, and her whole physical and moral energies
are consequently depressed.  In this despairing
condition, too many of our women are tempted to
enter a course of life, from which under other circumstances they would recoil with horror. This is
be no means a solitary case, for there are thousands of similar ones in our city. We are aware
of the necessity of a change. The subject has
been repeatedly brought before the public, but we
see no probability of an improvement, until the
owners of our clothing stores shall, at a public meeting, resolve that they will raise the prices of labor.
There are very few purchasers who would not be
willing (if they understood the object) to pay a few
cents more for the articles they want, and those
few cents may be the preservatives of the integrity
and virtue, perhaps even the life of some of these
oppressed operatives. We wish to impress upon
the public, that true economy demands that the
laborer shall be sufficiently paid. Let us remember,
that the man or woman who is tempted to crime by
the lowness of wages, must still be supported somewhere, and we must furnish the means. If we
will not give them the opportunity to support them



REPORT, 1851.              143
selves honestly by their labor, we must maintain
them, either as paupers or criminals. When shall
we awake from our apathy, and by the potency of
our will, decree that labor shall have its proper reward?
We have in our reports, spoken of the necessity
tf honest intelligence offices, and the benefits resulting from that established at the Rosine. We desire to call the attention of our friends to this subject, as many excellent women come to our office,
and feel they can apply there safely for situations.
The necessity of care in these persons we have long
known, as deception is often practised on unwary
females, in many instances resulting in their ruin,
from being sent from intelligence offices to houses
of immoral character. We have also known of
young women being entrapped by advertisements
in the newspapers. The mistress of a celebrated
house in this city told some of our members, she
was in the habit of advertising, and asked if they
did not remember seeing such notices. The last
one, she said, ran thus-" Wanted by a widow lady
in easy circumstances, who has no family but an
invalid son, and one domestic, a young lady as companion, and assistant in'sewing and chamber-work.
One from the country would be preferred."
Thirty young women, she said, called in answer
to this advertisement. We have also known of
cases where girls looking for places from door.to
door, have been spoken to in the street by the
keepers of such houses, and engaged to do any work
they desired, and at any price they chose to ask.
Need we wonder then when we see all around us
the arts of the designing, and the many causes that
lead to temptation, that so many fall; many, we




144           REPORT, 1851.
believe, who wish to be good and virtuous girls, but
the circumstances around them seem to lead to
their ruin, often, with almost the swiftness of a
dream.
During the past year, we have procured situations through our intelligence office for 468 women; 670 have applied for places. The most of
these applicants are entire strangers to us, but
among them are probably many, who may (through
this medium) have been saved from a life of misery.
We hope our friends when needing domestics,
will remember the Intelligence Office of the Rosine.
Within the last year we have given a temporary
shelter for a few days to 65 women, until we could
procure places for them, but the opening of the
Temporary Home now presents a more suitable
place for the respectable but friendless female.
Our school, we believe, has been a great advantage to our inmates. Our family during the year
has been larger than ewer before, and it has been
pleasing to see the interest evinced by some of
them. An opportunity presented a few days since,
for one who has been about a year in the house, to
get a very desirable situation. Upon her hesitating, we inquired the cause, and found her objection to leave was her desire to gain instruction, and
fearing she would lose the advantages of the school.
For this purpose, she wished still longer to be permitted to continue in the institution. Many who
came to us ignorant of a letter, are now reading
and writing. We feel the school to be an important part of our plan, as every means of gaining
useful knowledge, and every source of innocept enjoyment, may prevent that vacancy of mind that
leads to the desire for company and unprofitable




REPORT, 1851.             145
amusements. We have not been sufficiently aware
of the importance of education as a preventive of
crime, and the consciousness has been forced upon
us by the examinations of our inmates. Of 155
who have been under our care, 55 could not read
understandingly, and many did not know a letter;
95 could not write: but we may form some idea of
their attainments from the knowledge, that only
three knew the multiplication table perfectly. We
are accustomed to plume ourselves on the educational advantages enjoyed in this country, and
doubtless, those whose attention has not been called
to the subject, can hardly believe the amount of
ignorance, even in the free states. But of this we
may form an idea, from a statement of an agent of
the Bible Society. He Says, that in Burlington
County (one of the best counties in the state of New
Jersey) he visited 150 families who were destitute
of the Bible, and all knowledge of its contents. In
the state of Indiana, there are 175,017 persons
over 21 years of age who cannot read or write.
On examining the records of our House of Refuge
we find, that of 704 children received, 560 could
not read intelligibly, and many did not know their
letters. In the Eastern Penitentiary, of 2,300
convicts received, 594 could not read, and 517
could read, but not write. In the Moyamensing
Prison, of 175 convicts sentenced in one year, 83
could not read, and 27 could read very imperfectly.
These statements must induce us to believe that
the promotion of education and habits of temperance will do far more for the suppression of crime,
than all the prisons in the country.
We mentioned in our Semi-Annual Report, that
Thomas & Martin had sent $50 to the Institution
13




146            REPORT, 185.1.
for the purchase of goods, to be made up by the
Rosines, and distributed among the sufferers by the
great fire in Front and Water Streets. Wm. D.
Jones & Brothers, also contributed two pieces of
muslin for the same purpose. The proceeds of
these donations was 183 garments, which afforded
relief to many who had escaped with only the clothing on their persons. Another advantage resulted
from this beneficence-the kindly feelings of our
inmates were called forth, and it was interesting to
see the industry with which they applied themselves
to the task of doing good. It gives us great pleasure to say, that after laboring for three years and
a half among those who have been considered the
most hardened, the most degraded, and certainly
the most hopeless part of the community, that we
have never yet met with one who was utterly abandoned to evil. However sunk and depraved they
may be, however little consciousness they may possess of the original divinity of their natures, yet the
Almighty still keeps one spark alive in their bosoms, which may be recognized even in their lowest
condition, and if touched by the hand of sympathy
and kindness, may, like the iron on the anvil of the
blacksmith, send forth glowing emanations,'and be
shaped into forms of usefulness and beauty.
The number of garments made in the Rosine
House during the past year, has been:
For the sufferers by the fire,... 183
For the use of the Rosine family,.  491
For the Temporary Home, 2 comfortables
and 13 mattresses,...            15
Sundry articles for customers,...  1617
Total,....  2306




REPORT, 1851.              147
Our expenses for the year have been:
For rent, salaries, clothing, marketing,
etc.,...                     $1676  65
Our receipts have been:
For work done in the House,.   365 75
Interest on loan toward the purchase of
the House,..                  168 00
Donations and annual contributions,.  1015 40
Total,... $1549 15
By this statement we find the Institution is in
debt, and our treasurer has had to borrow $127 50
to meet expenses. This should not be so. If our
members would individually exert themselves to get
donations and annual subscriptions, the Institution
might not only be supported, but our house be paid
for, and the managers have leisure to perform their
proper duties. In a little more than a year our
lease will expire. Will not our friends enable us to
pay for the House, and thus keep a shelter open
for the returning penitent, where she may meet
with kindness and encouragement from her own
sex, and be trained to enter the paths of usefulness. $3,300 will be needed to effect the purchase.
Within a few days one of the originators, and
most earnest laborers in the Rosine House, has
passed awayELIZA PARKER.
Her name has been identified with the rise and
progress of the Institution. No outward monument need be erected to her memory. She lives
in our hearts, and we can entirely understand the




148            REPORT, 1851.
emotions of one of our former inmates when she
said-" I feel as if I had lost my own mother."
Over the grave of the mother of Eliza Parker, is
placed a stone with the inscription"Our Mother.-She taught us how to live and how to die."
Eliza sleeps upon the bosom of that mother, and
we feel the only words to be added, are,
" She learned the lesson 1"
Such a woman belongs not to a family, a church,
a society. She belonged to the race. Her sympathies went forth everywhere, and, following the
example of her Divine Master, it might emphatically be said" She went about doing good."
The soothing touch of her hand, the gentle tones
of her voice, the quiet rapidity of her step, and the
wisdom and kindness of her words and actions, are
remembered by many, and they look around and
ask, " By whom shall her place be filled?"
The Semi-Annual Meeting of the Society will
take place on 5th day or Thursday, October 9th.
It is desirable that our Members should pay their
subscriptions as soon after the Annual Meeting as
possible.




THE FUNERALS.              149
THE FUNERALS.
We have laid in the ground another of our Rosine
family. It was Alice. She had been an inmate
nearly two years, and we had become much attached
to her. She was an active, energetic Yankee girl,
when she came to this city, and, had not the blight
passed over her, would have probably made an exemplary Yankee matron, honored and esteemed in
her neighborhood, and a long and useful life might
have been crowned with the esteem and reverence
of all who knew her. How, and when she lost her
position in the home circle, where she had been
the idol of her mother and the pride of her father's
heart, it is not meet to tell; but she came to Philadelphia alone, and a stranger, and buried in a round
of dissipation the harrowing thoughts that she dared
not face, or dwell upon. In one of our visits to the
house where she resided, we met, and conversed
with her, but she was not then prepared to go with
us. To drown the misery of the thoughts which
hung like a cloud above her, she resorted to the cup
of inebriation. She shrunk from her own reflections, and banished the thoughts of that dear old
home in Connecticut, and the memories of former
years, by drinking more madly and wildly as month
after month passed away.
The newspapers spoke, in their local items, of a
young girl who had fallen from the window of the
third story of a house of bad character, had been
very much hurt, and was taken to the hospital. It
was Alice. As she laid on her bed of suffering,
she could no longer banish the intruding thoughts
that would come and drive her almost to despera13*




150           THE FUNERALS.
tion, and she resolved, if her life was spared, she
would endeavor to walk more worthily. She had
learned, that in the Rosine House she would
meet the sympathy of the good and virtuous,-that
an opportunity would be afforded to cultivate her
better and higher faculties; and, as her health approached restoration, she was strengthened to resolve to make an effort to regain a position in which
she might fearlessly dare to meet herself. When
she left the hospital, she came directly to the Rosine,
and told the story of her temptations and trials, of
her weaknesses and good resolves. Except a trifling
lameness, her health appeared to be restored, and
Alice seemed a happy girl, in the first real home
she had found since she left dear old Connecticut.
More than a year had passed away, when she began
to complain of pulmonary symptoms, and gradually
her face became more pale, except when brightened
by the hectic flush, and Alice knew that her days
were numbered. We often sat beside her, and read
and talked with her, and watched her setting sun
with feelings of deep interest. She was calm and
collected; she felt that her peace was made, and
she, who formerly dared not to meet herself, feared
not now to meet her Father in Heaven. Her dying
words were, "Jesus, I come! I come!"
One of the ministers, who had ofttimes talked
with her, preached the funeral sermon at the Rosine
House, but only the family and some of the managers went to the cemetery. It was a company of
females alone. We assembled around the open
grave, and stood in solemn silence. Alice had
selected a hymn, which she had asked some of her
companions to sing over her, and, after a pause of
a few minutes, the mournful melody ascended from




THE FUNERALS.                 151
lips, that, until they entered the Rosine, had been
unused to both prayer and praise. Again we stood
in silence, and again harmonious voices breathed
the sacred chant. Moore's beautiful lines were
borne upon the breeze, and responded to by every
heart present:
"Were not the sinful Mary's tears
An off'ring worthy Heav'n,
When o'er the sins of former years
She wept, and was forgiv'n?' When, bringing every balmy sweet,
Her day of luxury stored,
She, o'er the Saviour's hallowed feet,
The precious perfume poured.
"And wiped them with those golden hairs,
Where once the diamond shone,
Although those gems of grief were there,
Which shone for God alone.
t 0, thou who sleeps in error's sleep,
0 would'st thou wake in Heav'n,
Like Mary kneel, like Mary weep,
Love much, and be forgiv'n I"
And Alice, too, was forgiven! We felt that her
tears had washed away her stains, and her confidence in Divine mercy had smoothed her dying
pillow, and placed before her mental sight that
angelic band that seemed to be calling her away to
the realms of eternal life.  "Jesus, I come! I
come!" was her response; and she, who had walked
the earth an abandoned outcast, was numbered
among the redeemed in the kingdom of her heavenly
Father.
The first inmate we- lost by death in the Rosine,
was a young woman from the neighborhood of Cape




152           THE FUNERALS.
Island. Her father was a farmer, in moderate circumstances, and Amelia left her quiet home to gain
a few dollars in one of the large hotels on the
Island, during the busy season, by being employed
as chambermaid. But temptations and evil ones
seemed to be everywhere, and, when the time
arrived for poor Amelia to return to her home, she
sent her mother word she was going to the city, as
she was promised a good situation there. And so
Amelia came to this great vortex of good and evil,
and many a time the heart of the old mother
yearned to hear something of her daughter, and to
know of her well doing. But she knew Milly (as
they called her at home) had little practice in
writing; and, therefore, though she longed for a
letter, she hardly dared hope to receive one.
Months passed away, and at last a letter came. It was
to inform her of Milly's death. She had died among
strangers, and who or what they were the mother
knew not. She had been a gentle, good girl; and,
though the anxious mother had ofttimes wondered
why neither her daughter nor intelligence came to
her, yet no thought crossed her mind, that Milly
could be led into error, or bring sorrow upon her.
The mother who has passed through a similar dispensation alone can understand how she felt, when
the long-looked for letter came, and said her absent
one had been sick some weeks, but not considered
dangerously ill, when a sudden paralysis had deprived her of speech, and a few hours after of life.
The letter simply said, she was at No. 204 North
Eighth Street, and the mourning parent supposed
it was the good situation she had spoken of to them.
The hour of interment had nearly arrived, but no
intelligence was received from the friends of Amelia.




THE FUNERALS.              153
The funeral had been delayed as long as was deemed
prudent, to give them time to reach the city, but
no one came.   The family and managers had
assembled, the minister had delivered his sermon,
and all present were standing singing the parting
hymn, when the door opened, and the sorrowing
mother hung over her pale and lifeless child. We
pass over the natural manifestations of grief, and
the ceremonies of interment. The mother returned
with the family to the Rosine House; the managers
departed, and she was alone with them.  The
inquiries relative to the illness and death of her
daughter were all answered satisfactorily; but the
number and circumstances of the inmates seemed
to excite her wonder, until she ventured to inquire
the meaning and character of the individuals around
her. The matron had been instructed to evade, if
possible (consistently with truth), the revelation of
the object of the house, or the story of poor Amelia, but question after question was asked, until the
whole was revealed to the astonished and heartbroken mother. " Her Milly, poor Milly, the babe
she had nursed, the child she had loved and cherished, the pride of her heart, the gentle, the kind,
the good Milly, whom she had hoped would be the
stay and comfort of her old age, and who, when the
angel of death called for her, would lay her gray
hairs in the grave.  My child! my child! betrayed, abandoned, dead. Oh, that the grave had
closed over me, before I had seen this day, this
sorrow."
In pursuing the varied duties connected with the
Rosine, we have seen many a sorrowing mother
and heard many a recital that has filled us with indescribable emotions. In several instances, they




154           THE FUNERALS.
have brought their young daughters to us, and plead
with us to take them under our care, as the only
means by which they could be saved from a fate
far worse than death. One of these girls, who was
a year in the Rosine (while her friends, with the
exception of her mother and sister, supposed her to
be at boarding-school), is now a bright, happylooking wife and mother, while several others are
respectably situated, and bless the Rosine, as the
instrument in the hand of the Almighty, that has
saved them in the hour of temptation, and guided
their steps into a higher and purer path. In our
Reports, we have alluded to the cases of many of
those who have been under our protection, but many
others have claimed our care who have never entered
the Rosine, but whose situations require quite as
much effort, and faith, and patience; and of these
we never speak. It is not our part to blazon the
weakness, the folly, or the missteps of another, but
itis our duty to aid, as we may, each separate individual, according to their necessity and our ability.
We feel continually the need of Divine guidance,
and to be endowed with that faith and hope that
never flags or wearies. We know, that they who
despair never accomplish their aims, however great
or noble, and that confidence in the goodness of our
cause, and our own unshrinking fidelity to it, can
alone assure us of success.




REPORT, 1851.              155
SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MANAGERS OF
THE ROSINE ASSOCIATION.
President: Annis P. Furness, Pine, seven doors
beyond Broad St. Vice-President: Sarah Tyndale,
corner of Ninth and Sergeant Streets. Treasurer:
Mira Townsend, 101 Arch Street. Secretaries:
Mary M. Hastings, No. 24 Schuylkill Eighth St.;
Lydia Gillingham, 54 N. Fifth St.
Managers: Ann S. Campion, 27 Branch St.;
Susanna Lower, 254 N. Seventh St.; Lydia Longstreth, 272 N. Third St.; Rachael Wright, 273
Green St.; Ellen Lord, West Penn Square; Esther
Hancock, 100 Wallace St.; Anne M. Needles,
Twelfth and Race Sts.; Sophia Lewis, 119 Wood
St.; Elizabeth Hunt, Fifth below Green St.; Sarah
J. Webb, 244 Green St.; Margaret Skillman, 94
Wallace St.; Rebecca C. Grim, S. E. corner of
Sixth and Wager; Elizabeth Carr, 440 N. Fourth
St.; Abigail Ellis, 246 N. Seventh St.; Elizabeth
Hutter, 180 Race St.
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 9th, 1851.
Another half year has passed away, and again,
we are called to report our progress to the Society,
and to our contributors. Again are we asked, what
have you accomplished? what is your success? and
again we must reply, We are sowing, stowingsowing on all soils, and beside all waters. We
have not turned from the hard and stony ground,
because we saw little hope of reaping a luxuriant
harvest, for we have seen even the strong tree
standing upon the almost earthless rock, and sending its roots in a wonderful manner in search of




156           REPORT, 1851.
sustenance, and the tree thus supported, has given
its fruit and its shade; therefore, we know that He
who put us into the vineyard, and bade us labor,
has a higher knowledge than ours, and that the
seed cast upon the rock, or by the wayside, may be
watered by the showers and the dews; the bright
sun may warm it into life, and the Lord of the
harvest may bless it, and cause it to bring forth
fruit even a hundred fold. Feeling thus, there
can be no cessation of labor, but ever hoping and
trusting, we dare not consider any soil too barren,
or any rock too bare, for the creative hand to fertilize, and crown with uses and beauty. And when
the homeless, friendless outcast comes, weighed
down with griefs and iniquities, apparently so degraded and hardened, that we feel there is little
soil to receive the seed, who can say that this despised one may not be elevated to the condition of
an angel? Who of us can read in the book of destiny the mercies in reserve for this individual? We
believe such have been received into this Institution. Three are now laid silently in the earth who
came to us thus. Two of them had long been
familiar with crime, and they had drank to its very
dregs, the cup of iniquity. But the hand of disease
rested upon them, and they lingered upon the bed
of suffering, until the Father said, " It is enough."
Kind and virtuous women bent over their pillows,
read to them the words of inspiration, and pointed
them to the home where the weary rest, and the
heavy laden may enter through the gate of prayer.
The medical attendant who prescribed the physical
palliatives, also spoke of the healing power of the
Physician of Souls, and the words of exhortation,
of prayer, and of praise, were breathed beside them,




REPORT, 1851.              157
by those who preach glad tidings. Thus surrounded
by good influences, the profane and reckless woman
became the humble, patient child, brought through
Divine mercy into a new phase of existence, preparatory to the translation to that state where
temptation may no longer assail. We had the
consolation to believe that in each of the three
cases, an evidence was given of the acceptance of
their prayers! One believed she experienced a
foresight of Paradise, and the dying words of the
one last buried, were, " Jesus, I come! I come!"
Need we make other comment than to say, if the
Rosine had not opened its doors to these women,
they would all probably have passed out of existence in houses of immoral character, and under the
care and influence of those whose steps lead down
to destruction. We cannot limit the power of the
Almighty, and we believe even in such abodes of
wickedness His voice is heard and known, but can
we suppose in such circumstances, their minds
would have been led to seek through prayer the
door of hope? Surrounded by all the horrors that
congregate in such scenes of infamy, their last
words would probably have been imprecations, and
their last sighs groans of agonized remorse..If
the Rosine House has been the agent of no other
good than thus to cast its blessed influences over
these unfortunate wanderers, it had done a good
work, but we believe many other minds have been
awakened to a sense of their condition, and brought
to the footstool of mercy, some of whom have continued walking consistently from the time they first
came under our care, nearly four years since. In
our last Report, we mentioned that one of our
former inmates had $50 placed at interest, the
14




158           REPORT, 1851.
savings from her wages since she left the Institution.  Since that period, we have received $30
more from her, which has been added to the $50,
making $80 now at interest. She is also a contributing member of the Society, one of the seven
former inmates who have been elected members
by the Managers.
A few days since, one of our Board visited a
woman in the Penitentiary, who kept the house
where this young woman lived in her days of infamy. She was taken exceedingly ill while there,
and the mistress of the house fearing she would
die, came to one of the Managers of the Rosine,
requesting her to come and see the girl, saying, " I
could not bear that she should die without some
good person seeing her." Providence blessed the
deed! the girl was restored and taken by her new
friend to the Rosine House.   After remaining
some months at the Institution, she was placed at
service, and the $80 alluded to, have been the
savings from her wages since that period. These
facts were related to the convict in the Penitentiary, and a ray of pure feeling illumined her face as
she said, " I have never heard from her since she
left my house; you make me so happy! I am so
glad I could cry."   Here was a treble benefit
conferred, on the fallen one who had been raised
to usefulness and respectability; on this unfortunate woman, who in the seclusion of her cell had
thus unexpectedly had one of her good deeds
brought before her, in such a manner that her heart
was filled with rejoicing, and she felt, that in the
true balance of the Almighty, this one redeeming
act which had been thus blest, might outweigh a
multitude of sins. And she who had been the in



REPORT, 1851.              159
strument of Providence, to give the hand to one,
and now to speak the word to the other, felt her
heart filled with gratitude, and her faith strengthened to persevere without yielding to discouragements, but to continue to sow in all soils, and
beside all waters.
190 women of this unfortunate class, have been
received as inmates since the opening of the Rosine
House, and to a great number of friendless and
destitute women, of respectable character, a shelter
was given, previous to the opening of the Temporary Home, which Institution was founded and
brought into existence by the Managers of the
Rosine Association. Of the necessity of both these
societies, it is now needless to speak. A preventive and remedial institution are equally needed:
the one to save and protect the innocent and
friendless; the other, to snatch the erring from the
grasp of iniquity; to raise the fallen; to place
within their reach the means of honorable existence, and to point them upward and onward to that
higher and better state, where they may glide imperceptibly into the social and holy relations of
life.
507 women and children have been provided with
homes and employment, from the Temporary Home,
since the house was opened, one year since, and
1195 from the Rosine, since this Institution and
Intelligence Office came into existence. Total from
the two Associations, 1702. These facts reply to
the queries, " What have you done?" " What are
you doing?" And we may add further, that in one
or the other of these Homes, every woman who is
able and willing to work, and whose object is to
maintain herself honestly by the labor of her own




160           REPORT, 1851.
hands, may be sheltered and protected; and whatever may have been the errors of the past, if a
disposition is shown for amendment and future
rectitude, she need no longer say, "I have no
home, no friends!" for both home and friends are
offered to the deserving, as well as to those who
evince a disposition to become the deserving.
Upwards of 50,000 copies of our various Reports
have been circulated-18,000 of them in pamphlet
form. They have been our missionaries, speaking
for those who could not speak for themselves,
awakening sympathy, telling the reader his duties
and responsibilities, for verily we are guilty in this
matter concerning our sister, if we can aid her
cause, and withhold our hand. She is our sister,
even if she be covered with rags and iniquities; and
from the fact, that the Almighty has opened hearts
and hands to provide for these, we know that their
cries have ascended to Heaven, and the Angel of
Mercy has been sent with his dispensation of love,
to overshadow those to whom the blessings of this
life have been granted, and give them a new heart
and a new sight, that they may read afresh, and
understand the doctrine that was given to the world
long ago, but which was read apparently without
understanding; for when the people read, " Do as
you would be done by"-" Go and sin no more"" There is more joy in heaven over one sinner that
repenteth than over ninety and nine just persons,"
and, "Inasmuch as ye have done it to the least of
these, ye have done it unto me;" they professed to
believe it, and to be the followers of Him who
preached these doctrines, yet still the prisons were
unvisited, the detected violator of the laws, and the
weak and erring woman have been cast aside (per



REPORT, 1851.              161
haps by those equally guilty), with "Stand off, I
am more holy than thou." But this angel of
mercy has awakened heart after heart, and made
them interpret these passages, and see they were
meant to be the every-day experience of men and
women, and a Howard, a Fry, a Dix, and others,
were inspired to show the people that the dead can
still be raised-the dead in sin-that the lost may
be found, and that the fatted calf may still be
killed, in rejoicing over the repentant prodigal.
The miracles and parables were full of meaning.
They were not intended solely for that time, but
for all time; not only for that people, but for us
and all coming generations; and as we show in our
lives the manifestations of our faith, we prove in
the only way our discipleship, for it is now as of
old, " By their fruits ye shall know them." Reading thus anew these doctrines, we have sent our
missionary pamphlets to say, our eyes have been in
a degree enlightened, and we are trying to live
these doctrines in our own experience, and already
we can say, in a degree, we understand them, for
we have said to the erring woman, "Go, and sin
no more;" and behold, we have seen her clothed in
the white robe, and in the peace and harmony of
our own spirits, some of us can testify, that we
have known something of the joy of heaven, over
the sinner that repenteth.
But with all our efforts, we feel oppressed with
the magnitude of the work that ought to be accomplished, and with the knowledge that we are surrounded by sources of evil, that in every square
poison the atmosphere, and generate vices of every
description.  The injudicious system  which our
law-makers have adopted, of increasing our revenue
14*




162            REPORT, 1851.
from licenses to sell liquor, is producing the most
alarming effects in our community, and our statistics show, that the expenses of supporting our
prisoners and paupers are increased, in consequence of the indulgence in liquor in a far greater
ratio than the receipts from the sale of licenses.
Prior to the change in the License Law, in April,
1849, the licensed houses for the sale of spirituous
liquors were 750, and they now number 2432.
Thus we see 2432 proprietors are making a living
for themselves and families, by the sale of intoxicating drinks, to pervert the manners and morals
of our citizens; bring disease, poverty, wretchedness, and disgrace into their families, and produce,
not only in themselves, but in their offspring,
those downward tendencies that unfit them for the
uses and virtuous enjoyments of life. In examining the cases of our inmates, we find many of them
are the children of parents addicted to this vice,
and as we believe that scrofula, consumption,
and insanity may be transmitted from parent to
child, we must believe that the disease of intemperance may descend in a similar manner. Dr. Howe
says, in his Report to the Legislature of Massachusetts, that the parents of 306 idiots under his
care, were habitual drunkards. We know children
partake of the tempers, disposition, and appearance of their parents, and that the drunkard not
only enfeebles his own system but frequently entails mental disease upon his family; and, when
this intemperance becomes a fixed habit, a disease,
it brings with it an irresistible impulse, which
draws its unhappy victim into practices and positions equally disgusting and degrading, and his offspring must, by their very organization, be predis



REPORT, 1851.              163
posed to vice and unhealthy stimulants. Within
the past week a young girl was received into the
Rosine, whose parents were both drunkards, and
her whole narrative proved, that she had imbibed
the poison at the breast, been subjected to its deadening, debasing influences, and finally was brought
to ruin by a comrade of her father's, in the presence
of her mother, who was lying drunk upon the floor.
Did our limits permit we could give other startling
facts, at which humanity revolts; but, to bring the
subject fully before our citizens, we must refer to
statistics, which affect the pecuniary interests of
every one.
The money now paid into the Treasury of the
Commonwealth, for licenses for taverns, distilleries,
breweries, beer and eating-houses, amounts to about
$60,000 per annum, while the annual expenditures
to support our Prisons, Almshouse, Houses of
Refuge, Court of Quarter Sessions, City and Marshal's Police, are about $550,000. To every reflecting mind it will not be necessary to state, that
these expenses are caused mainly, either directly
or indirectly, in consequence of the use of stimulating liquors.
Of 5000 cases admitted in one year into our Almshouse, 2323 were intoxicated when received, 281
were cases of mania potu, thus showing that more
than one half of the number admitted were the
direct victims of this injudicious system, and we
may safely draw the inference, that a large proportion of the other half were indirectly paupers, from
the same cause. When we refer to the Report of
Marshal Keyser, of July, 1851, we find, the number
of arrests, by his police, to be 7131; of these, 73
were for vagrancy, 636 assault and battery, 135




164            REPORT, 1851.
fighting, 625 intoxication, and 3622 for breaches
of the peace. During last year 5987 persons were
brought before the Mayor for drunken and disorderly conduct. The great majority of these individuals have families, into which they carry
poverty, disease, and degradation, and the professed
benefits derived from it, are, the reception of
$60,000 into the treasury, and the support of 2432
rum-sellers.
Some of our Members may perhaps inquire, why
these statements are made in a Report of the Rosine
Association, and what particular connection they
can have with our inmates. We believe a knowledge of these circumstances, and of their effects,
is of vital importance in our reformatory movement.
When case after case comes before us, of women,
whose minds appear to be weak, where we find little
or no principle, and scarcely a perception between
right and wrong, we must look for the causes of this
imbecility, this absence of principle, these deviations from correct conduct. We find the solution
in many cases to be intemperance, in one or both
parents, the consequent deterioration of the mental
faculties of the child, the degrading scenes it witnesses, and the debased associations into which children are brought from the dissolute habits of their
parents. Thus vice and recklessness become familiar, and they are predisposed by their organization and position to enter at an early period into
the soul-deadening career. At almost every house
of immoral character liquor is sold, and to enhance
the profits of the keeper the unfortunate inmates
are tempted to drink constantly, to benumb their
own sensibilities, so as to enable them to endure




REPORT, 1851.              165
their wretched existence, and prompt them to induce their visitors to enter also this fearful road to
ruin. Thus the fondness for stimulants is cultivated,
until the whole being is debased.
When an inmate is received into the Rosine House
the Temperance Pledge is usually administered,
and when they depart, we have reason to believe
they generally intend and desire to aim at a higher,
better life. But the dram shop under its varied
names is in every square, the temptation on every
hand, and in almost every case, when those who
have been under our care abandon the situations in
which they have been placed, and return to their
former haunts, we find the first temptation has been
the fatal cup, in some professedly respectable drinking-house. Have we not reason then to investigate
this subject, and urge our friends to assume their
duties, in endeavoring to remove this fruitful source
of evil, which is pervading with its poisoning influences our whole city, demoralizing our community, rendering nugatory in a great degree the
efforts of our benevolent institutions, and draining
our pockets in the form of taxes, to support our
Courts, our Police, our Almshouse and Prisons.
Two-thirds of our charitable institutions might close
their doors if the sale of intoxicating liquors was
prohibited.
But, amid the regrets and disappointments to
which we are thus subjected, we have much to cheer
us. During the past 18 months, our family has
been larger than ever before, and the continued
good conduct of many of those who came under our
care nearly four years since, gives us the best evidence that we have not labored in vain.  The




166           REPORT, 1851.
tokens of affection we are constantly receiving from
some of these poor friendless children is highly
gratifying. Occasionally a note bespeaking their
feelings is quietly slipped into our'hands. On last
Valentine's Day, one of our managers received
seven of these pledges of love and gratitude. Some
of them were with difficulty deciphered, as the authors probably were ignorant of a letter, when they
entered the house, but they all breathed a consciousness that they were better women than they
had been, and that the Rosine had been the instrument of making them so.
We will refer to a circumstance illustrative of the
kind and generous feelings which is sometimes
evinced by our inmates. A woman from Ireland
deserted her husband and two children, and came
to this city. Here she sank herself down step by
step, until one of our Managers found her in the
prison, and brought her from there to the Rosine.
After a course of good conduct for several months
she wrote to her husband, informing him of her
situation and expressing her penitence. He replied
immediately and invited her to return, assuring her
of his forgiveness. Her anxiety to be reinstated
in her home and in the hearts of her husband and
children was now so great, that her companions
became deeply interested, and called a meeting
among themselves, at which they addressed a petition to the Managers for work, by which they
might in their leisure moments earn something
towards defraying her expenses back to Ireland.
Their petition was granted, and about ten dollars
was thus earned by over-work.




REPORT, 1851.               167
During the past six months
the number of garments
made for customers has
been    -   -   -   - 533,bringing$202 06
By inmates for their own
emolument,  -   -   - 57,   "     11 62
To pay for the Irish woman's
passage, -  -   -   -24,    "     10 00
For the use of the inmates and
Institution,  -  -  - 170
Total,  -      -  - 784
190 Women have been received as Inmates since
the opening of the house, besides a great number
of respectable women, to whom a temporary home
has been given, until they could be placed in permanent houses. Of the 190 inmates, 79 have been
placed at service in respectable families, 2 have
been sent to their friends in New York, 1 has returned to her relations in Scotland, 5 have marriedone marriage took place in the Institution, 5 have
been restored to their parents, 3 have died, 11 were
sent to the almshouse, 3 were received, and went
to housekeeping again with their husbands, 58 have
been dismissed as unsuitable cases, or left, with, or
without permission, and 28 are now in the Rosine
House. Our family is sometimes increased for a few
days, by the return of some who have been at service, when they have occasion to change their places.
At such periods we always encourage them to come
back, as to a parent's house, and other situations
are then procured for them.
Our expenses within the six months have been,
For rent, salaries, clothing, marketing, &c., $868 81
Cash returned, borrowed previously to our
last report, -  -                127 50
Total,           -   -   - $996 31




168            REPORT, 1851.
Our receipts have been,
For work done in the House, -  -  - $202 06
Interest on loan,                  86 91
Annual subscriptions paid and donations
solicited,                      587 50
From the committee to celebrate the arrival of the Steamship City of Glasgow,  70 00
Board of inmates working on their own
account,                         23 00
Total,   -- $969 47
Deficiency in income,  -  -  -  -  26 84
CERTIFICATE BY AUDITORS.
The undersigned having been appointed by the
Board of Managers of the Rosine Association to
examine the Accounts of the Treasurer, Mira
Townsend, have attended to the duty assigned them,
and find the Books have been accurately kept, and
are correct in every particular.
MARY M. HASTINGS,
ANNE M. NEEDLES.
9th Month, 19,1851.
It is exceedingly unpleasant to have to refer in
our Reports to our pecuniary necessities, and to be
forced to solicit from door to door the means of supporting our Rosine family. We have still hoped
that amid our wealthy citizens some hearts would
be opened towards these poor outcast children, who
would feel the necessity of endowing such a Home,
where they could be sheltered, protected, taught
"to support themselves honestly by the labor of
their own hands," their minds cultivated by educational, moral, and religious influences, and where
finally they might be placed in positions to be good
and useful members of the community.




REPORT, 1851.               169
The Rosine is no longer merely an experiment;
it is an Incorporated Society, taking its place amid
other benevolent associations, and second to no one
in its necessity and usefulness, in the earnestness
of some of its laborers, or their devotion to the interests of these unfortunates. We feel that our
purpose is a high, a holy one, and that we have a
claim upon the sympathies and purses of our citizens,
to aid us in effecting our object..
Our duties are numerous, and highly responsible.
To receive, examine, and judge of every case that
presents for admission; to administer to the various
necessities of our household, and cause our inmates
to be mentally and physically instructed; to provide homes for those who are prepared to leave; to
visit houses of immoral character, the almshouse
and prison; to receive numberless calls from persons on business, connected with, or relative to the
Institution; to receive and reply to numberless
letters; attend to the numerous outdoor interests
of our inmates, and lastly, to raise funds to support
the Rosine House and family.
Our friends will perceive that these varied duties
consume a great amount of time, and some of us
feel, when we are required to go out day after day
soliciting funds, that this is not our proper sphere.
Some of our other duties must be neglected, that
we may have time to solicit contributions; for our
family must be fed and clothed, and our other expenses paid, or we must say to these friendless ones,
We have no longer a home for you.
And now, in less than another year, on the 31st
day of next July, our lease will expire, and by an
agreement with our landlord, we may then become
owners of the property, by the payment of $5,000.
15




170            ROSA GOVONA.
The price of the house is $6,333, $1,300 of which
sum is now invested in a mortgage on the house.
$1,750 we have out at interest. Will not our
friends aid us in raising the $3,000, that an open
door may be secured to these, " the poorest of the
poor." We acknowledge the kindness of our friends
in their contributions, both in goods and money,
but the cause is not our cause alone, it is their cause
also; it is the cause of purity, virtue, morality,
charity, justice, and religion.
ROSA GOVONA.
We are frequently asked by those who were not
present at the formation of the Rosine Association
of Philadelphia, the meaning of the name. To such
we may reply-Rosa Govona, a young Italian girl,
was left in poverty, and earned her living by honest
industry. A young and destitute orphan claiming
her sympathy, she said, " Come and live with me;
you shall earn your living honestly, by the work of
your own hands." The two labored together; and
soon other poor girls presenting, she took them also
under her charge, and they engaged in lacemaking, and other similar employments.   The
number of girls increasing gradually to seventy,
they entered into the silk and woollen manufacturing, under the care of the priests, who provided
for them in an old convent the necessary accommodations.
The business increasing, they were enabled to
add to their family, until they numbered three
hundred women. The government encouraged them,




ROSA GOVONA.              171
by giving them contracts to supply the army with
clothing, and the manufacturing of gold lace, and
other fancy military trimmings, increased their
profits, and gave them great opportunity to exercise their industry and ingenuity to the best advantage. Rosa was the mainspring of the whole, and
her genius and virtue regulated everything in such
a manner, that the propriety of their conduct and
their prosperity was equally remarkable. The fame
of this institution spread over Italy, and Rosa was
invited by the authorities of other places to found
similar establishments, which she did in seven
cities. Leaving Mondovi (the place of her nativity),
after making arrangements for the future prosperity
of the Rosines there, she took some of the experienced hands with her, and, with the aid of the
government and the priests, established the other
institutions. In these, poor and unfortunate girls
were received, and taught to labor; and over the
door of each of these houses was inscribed, "You
shall support yourself honestly by the labor of your
hands."
The story of Rosa Govona being published in
Chambers' Miscellany, and copied in the Advocate
and Guardian, met the eye of an individual, whose
mind had been drawn to commiserate the condition
of many of the unfortunate women living in vice -
and degradation in Philadelphia. She had often
asked, " Can nothing be done for them?"  She
could not suppose that all were hopelessly depraved
who appeared so. She believed the Almighty had
implanted good feelings and right desires in every
mind; and that, though circumstances might have
prevented their development, and evil associations
cultivated the lower propensities, yet the germs of




172           ROSA GOVONA.
a better, higher, nobler nature were there, and only
needed to be awakened and encouraged by influences
that might be cast around them, to elevate them to
the enjoyment of rational pleasures, and give a
desire for a life of useful and respectable industry.
With these impressions, the story of Rosa Govona
came before her, and a light dawned upon her
mind. She exclaimed, " If Rosa could do so much,
surely we can do something!" The subject was
laid before some of her friends, a meeting was held,
and the Rosine Association formed, which now
numbers upwards of five hundred women as members. Ninety-six females have been inmates of the
Institution, many of whom, after living several
years in the indulgence of criminal habits, -have
been received there, retained under instruction
some months, and are now placed in respectable
families, where they give evidence by their conduct
and conversation, that, however erring and unfortunate the past may have been, the right opportunity and influences alone were wanting to elevate
them, give them a sense of propriety, and animate
them to aim at the fulfilment of the high and sacred
duties of woman. These facts prove, that, though
the unequal verdict of society had taken from them
every hope of the possibility of restoration to happiness or usefulness, yet, as soon as they felt they
were under the protection, and were sustained and
encouraged, by their own sex, those passions which
disgraced and degraded them became softened, hope
again sprang into life within them, and once more they
felt they had an object to struggle and live for. They
were down-society had placed its heel upon them.
The Rosine Association was formed. The hand of
woman was extended-the probe, the wine, and the




ROSA GOVONA.              173
oil were used. The age of miracles was not passed.
The dead were raised, and women, who had truly
been dead in sin and without hope, are now clothed
in their right minds, and sitting at the feet of their
Heavenly Father.
The name of Rosine Association was given in
honor of Rosa Govona. Her story proved how
much could be accomplished by energy and industry;
and no name could be more appropriate than that
of the one who had been so great a benefactor of
her sex in her own country, and whose example
inspired others on a distant shore to enter also into
these " walks of usefulness."
The Temporary Home Association, formed in
June last, has come into existence from the many
applications from virtuous women in destitute circumstances, who applied to be received into the
care of the managers of the Rosine House. Another
Institution was felt to be needed, and, after due deliberation, the Temporary Home Association comes
before the public, for the purpose of preparing and
sustaining an asylum which shall be a cheap, safe,
and respectable boarding-house for women seeking
employment-where the stranger, with or without
funds, shall be received and sheltered, until homes
or business can be procured for them, and where also
children, who are cast unprotected upon the street
to beg, to steal, or to starve, may find a temporary
home, until a permanent one may be open for them.
Eight institutions have been the result of the
labors of Rosa Govona in Italy, and the Rosine and
Temporary Home Associations in Philadelphia
(though differing in their plans from those established by her) have been in a degree fostered into
existence by the emanations from her genius and
15*




174           ROSA GOVONA.
goodness, and prove, that however humble the
individual, every one may have influence, and effect
great good, if they choose to exercise the faculties
Providence has given them.
The situation of manufactures in this country,
and the habits of our people, prevent such institutions here as exist in Catholic populations, where
the influence of the priests leads females to lives of
seclusion and devotion, in accordance with the precepts inculcated by them.
The managers of the Rosine, believing that the
cultivation of the higher faculties and the social
qualities leads to the greatest usefulness in life, and
that American habits were too changeful for women
to be permanently benefited by manufactures, resolved to endeavor to prepare the inmates of the
Institution for entering into all the family relations, by educating them, mentally and morally,
and teaching the various branches of sewing and
domestic housewifery. The object of this Society, is
not to keep those it seeks to benefit cloistered for life,
but to prepare them for usefulness, and send them
forth to take their portion of the world's work, that
they may redeem the past misspent time, and become a blessing instead of a curse to society.
A letter has lately been received from the sister
of the individual who has brought the name of Rosa
before the Philadelphia public. This lady and her
brother have been travelling the past two years in
Europe; and, knowing the circumstances here related, paid their first visit after they arrived in
Turin to the Rosine Manufactory. She writes
thus:
"We have just returned from the Institution
founded by Rosa Govona. We have stood upon




ROSA GOVONA.               175
her grave, and copied the inscription on the marble
slab inserted in the wall above, which we will send
for the benefit of your establishment.
" The Rosine is a large house, occupying two
sides of a square, the balance of which is devoted
to a vegetable garden for the family, which consists
at present of 220 women. On one side of the
house are ranges of balconies, supported by immense
columns, affording, in each story, a fine covered
promenade. We regretted exceedingly, the only
one in the house who could talk with us, spoke
French so imperfectly, that it was almost impossible
to gain information from her (though she was very
obliging), but, in the store, we found a man, who in
good French gave us their history. He said, they
had no school-none were admitted under 15, nor
over 22 years. The Institution is under the care
of the government, and, in case of deficiency in
the funds, the Queen balanced the accounts. They
work from seven to twelve, and from two till dusk,
working for themselves only in other hours. They
require little while living, and are buried respectably. On Sundays and fete days they are allowed
to walk out with the permission of the Superior.
Our lady cicerone led us into a number of rooms,
where the women were employed in picking wool,
spinning, reeling, etc.; and from there into the
weaving room, where they manufactured not only
for themselves, but for the regiments. They wear
a brown woollen mixture for their bodices and
sleeves, but their skirts are green.  In the silk
rooms, from the cocoon to the most splendid silks,
and ribbons, all passes through their hands. In
the tailor's rooms, the entire clothing of the troops
is made, and, in the embroidery departments, laces




176            ROSA GOVONA.
are netted and ornamented for the robes of the
priests, and for the chapels. Comforts are quilted
in another division. The kitchen, eating rooms,
and chambers are large, and well lighted, and very
much on the plan of some of our own institutions.
They have brick floors, blue woollen coverlets, and
images of the Madonna in each dormitory, and
countless pictures of the saints everywhere.
" The RoSines rise, according to the season, from
4 to half-past 5. They eat a simple breakfast,
dine at 12, and take supper at 7, at which periods
they have reading, from a person seated in a high
chair. They publish no reports, so we could not
learn much of their financial arrangements. The
Rosines can remain in the house while they live,
but, if they leave, they take only their wardrobe.
We saw among them several quite aged women.
The house is called the Retira della Rosina, and is
built on the spot where Rosa was established, in
1749, by Carlo Emmanuel. The notary told us,
there were four institutions dependent on this, in
Savillon, Saluce, St. Damiena, and Chierri.
"In the church attached to the house, is the
tomb of Rosa, and her portrait, in oil colors, hangs
in a little room attached to the oratory. An engraving, half-sheet size, is in another room. We
have endeavored, but in vain, to get a picture of
her to send you, as a shrine for your poor unfortunates.
" A little fancy cap, which is very becoming, was
introduced by the foundress, and is still worn by the
Rosines. Our cicerone offered to dress a doll for
us, in the full costume, but, on account of the carriage, we had to be satisfied with the cap, like her
own, made of the silk and ribbon manufactured in




REPORT, 1852.              177
the establishment.  She blushingly refused our
money, when pressed to accept it. The Superior
is a venerable-looking lady. We regretted much
we could not understand each other.
"The inscription on the tomb of Rosa has been
translated. It tells her worth.
"Here lies ROSA GOVONA, of Mondovi; who, in
her early youth, dedicated herself to God, that, to
His glory, should be raised Institutions in her own
country (Italy), in which abandoned girls should
find a retreat, and be made to serve God, giving
them for their government, the best rules for employment in piety and labor."
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MANAGERS OF THE
ROSINE ASSOCIATION.
Managers:-President: Annis P. FuFness, Pine,
seven doors beyond Broad St. Vice-President:
Sarah Tyndale, corner Ninth and Sergeant Sts.
Treasurer: Mira Townsend, 101 Arch Street.
Secretaries: Mary M. Hastings, 24 N. Schuylkill
Eighth Street; Lydia Gillingham, 54 N. Fifth
Street.
Ann S. Campion, 27 Branch Street; Sophia
Lewis, 119 Wood Street; Elizabeth Hunt, Fifth
below Green Street; Sarah J. Webb, 244,Green
Street; Rebecca C. Grim, S.E. Corner of Sixth
and Wager Streets; Elizabeth Carr, 440 N. Fourth
Street; Cynthia Collins, Chestnut above Seventh
Street; Mary H. Middleton, New below Second
Street; Mary Murphy, corner of Twelfth and Arch




178           REPORT, 1852.
Streets; Eliza Yard, corner of Walnut and Eighth
Streets; Susan Kimber, Franklin above Green
Street; Susanna Lower, 254 N. Seventh Street;
Ellen Lord, Washington above Tenth Street; Anne
M. Needles, corner Twelfth and Race Streets;
Lydia Longstreth, 272 N. Third Street.
PHILADELPHIA, April 1st, 1852.
Years come and go, and leave no impression
upon the mind, save by the events that marked
their progress.  Some of these we have noted
down, and presented their record to our members
and subscribers, during the five years of our existence as a society. At each annual gathering we
are led to review the past, and. trace the feelings,
as well as the events of the circling periods, and
with some of us, the memory is still fresh of the
calling and circumstances of our first meeting. We
have been told that the love of sin was more
natural to us than the love of the good and the
right, but when we looked into our own hearts we
could not believe it; for though we acknowledged
we were weak, and sometimes erring, yet our souls
were filled with the love of the good and the
beautiful, and if we occasionally stept aside from
the perfect image of goodness pictured in our minds,
it was not owing to the sinful deformity of our
natures, but simply, that we were not perfect, not
God-like altogether, though made in his image.
These were the thoughts that were living in our
minds, though many of us had never uttered them,
and when the invitation was given to assemble ourselves together, to consider what could be done for
those, who having been placed in unfavorable circumstances, had been in a degree corrupted by




REPORT, 1852.              179
them, and thus yielded to the temptations with
which these circumstances had surrounded them,
our hearts sprang at the suggestion that something
could be done for these, and with trembling emotion
we entered the meeting, full of faith that something
could be done, and yet we knew not what course
should be adopted. The longing in our natures
after the high and the holy, convinced us that God
had not merely made us in his image, but that he
had also endowed as with a portion of his spirit,
and that these, our unfortunate sisters, were also
formed in his image, and gifted with the same aspirations; but poverty, ignorance, or corrupting
associations, had sunk them into vicious habits, and
dimmed the light in their soils, but we could not
believe these emanations from the Deity himself
could be put out, and therefore we hoped the hour
had come when the Father of mercy would guide
us in some path, where we might become the instruments to help open the eyes of these blind ones,
and rekindle faith and hope upon the altars of
some of their hearts. We had been accustomed to
consider these unfortunates as irreclaimable, because so few had been reformed, but a little reflection showed us the reason why the number was so
small. It was not the fault of the individuals, so
much as that of society-of ourselves. What had
been done to educate these women, and provide them
with remunerating employment? What influences
had been cast around them to train them in principles of rectitude; and then, when temptations
clustered about them, and they were drawn into
the whirlpool of vice, where was the hand outstretched to save them?  Where was woman's
ministry of love to pour in the oil, and the wine,to




180           REPORT, 1852.
strengthen the weak, to encourage the desponding,
to stimulate them to return to the paths of virtue,
and give them the means of honest, respectable
employment? Some few men have given efforts of
this kind, but with poor success, because they could
not inspire hope that any degree of perseverance
in the right, would gain them the favor of their
own sex, and without that, they knew little could
be accomplished. And woman, with all her kindness and benevolence, with all the religious fervor
with which she labored for the heathen in foreign
lands, remembered not that the heathen were beside
her own door-stone; that the neighbor, the sister
in her own land, had grown up in ignorance of the
Scriptures she was sending to a foreign shore; that
thousands of her own countrywomen needed her
efforts, even to learn the letters that were the steps
that might reveal those blessed pages to them; and
with all the zeal with which she traversed sea and
land to make converts, she had not the moral courage to enter the abodes of sin in her own city, and
draw from thence the unfortunate victims of licentiousness. And what now could or would be done,
was yet hidden in the shadows of futurity; but the
very assemblage of several hundred women to consider the subject, was ominous "of the good time
coming." It spoke of advancement, of progress
in our appreciation of what duty and benevolence
required, and with the acknowledgment of our past
omissions, came the willingness to give our time,
our money, and our zeal, to this, the most important of Home Missions.
Five years have elapsed since that period, and
some of us who that day put our hand to the work,
have never flinched from it since, but have breasted




REPORT, 1852.              181
the difficulties in our path, relying on that Power
who we believed had opened a way in which we
could speak of glad tidings to the hopeless, and
give them that aid that might enable them to believe that there was yet a possibility of returning
to respectable and useful life. Those only whose
hands have been constantly to the oar can tell
the amount of time, labor, thought, and feeling, that have been expended; but when we look
around and see what has been accomplished, and
observe the bright happy family in the Rosine, our
hearts are raised with gratitude, that we have been
selected as the instruments to awaken the hearts of
the people to help us in this cause, and that we
have been enabled to open a house that has been
truly not only the home of the friendless, but the
beacon light that has shed its beneficent influence
to illumine the weary and benighted, and to show
them there was a way to escape from the horrors
and degradation of their condition, and be elevated
to the position of a useful Christian character.
And that position we believe some of our inmates
have attained. Three who have-gone down to the
tomb, died with prayers and blessings upon their
lips; others have mingled in the family circles of
other homes, and proved by their actions and usefulness that we have not labored for nought.
Daughters have been restored to parents, from
whom they have been separated for years, and
sorrowing hearts have been gladdened by the lost
being found.  One girl, who was the widowed
mother's only child, had been lured from her, the
mother knew not whither, until she was traced by
one of our earliest inmates, who was then laboring
as a missionary, to save those who like herself had
16




182           REPORT, 1852.
gone astray, and who she hoped might become
able, as she had, to assume the position of a respectable married woman, and a professor of religion. This girl, then only 17 years of age, she
heard was in prison, whence one of us brought her,
and she remained under our care more than a year.
Last autumn her mother sent a request for her to
return home, as she was sick and needed care.
Some of us have visited them occasionally during
the winter, and it has been more than gratifying to
observe her tender devotion to that once deserted
parent, and heard her speak with tearful eyes of the
change the Rosine had wrought in that daughter.
Four years since, a mother came to us, begging
us to receive her child, a girl of 17. She was
bound to the Managers, and remained under our
care until she was of age. She was then received
by her friends, and supported herself by tailoring,
which she learned while with us. She has been
married two years, and was visited within a few
days by one of our members, who found her comfortably settled in a well-furnished house, with a
beautiful bright child playing beside her, and her
own face radiant with smiles, as she welcomed her
old friend to her home. Those only who have seen
a beloved one snatched from destruction and restored to their own esteem, and to that of others,
can appreciate the feelings of the friends of such
individuals; and those only who have risen to selfesteem from the miseries of a life of infamy, can
place a value on the benefits that may be derived,
from being for a period an inmate of the Rosine.
In our last report we spoke of one for whom we
had deposited $80 in the Saving Fund, earned
since she left us, in another home, where she had




REPORT, 1852.              183
been receiving the reward of honest labor. $102
are now placed to her account in that Institution,
thus proving, that even the reckless carelessness of
habits of dissipation may be conquered, when a
sufficient stimulus is presented. Some time since,
Judge Kelley requested us to visit a girl of fifteen
years of age in the prison. We brought her from
there, and found she was the child of a respectable
mechanic in the upper part of the city. She had
been enticed from her father's house, and for three
months (being afraid to return), had wandered from
one scene of infamy to another, feeling herself
truly homeless and friendless. Some nights she
had slept in out-houses, into which she had crept
for shelter, and at last was put in prison for taking
an article of clothing which had previously been
lent to her. She is now indentured to us, and we
hope her residence in the Rosine will prove as great
a blessing to her as it has to several others who
have been placed with us by their friends, under a
similar engagement.
One, of whom we have spoken as having been
led to ruin in her 12th year, and from that period
until she came under our roof, in her 25th year, had
been leading a life of the lowest degradation, who,
by her own acknowledgment, had been in prison
over fifty times, is now earning her living by vestmaking, which she learned in the Rosine. We had
seen this woman so often in the prison, and in
worse places, that even to us she appeared altogether a hopeless case, and when we received her
under our roof, it was not that we expected to
benefit her, but that we could not refuse her application. Those who knew her formerly, a disgusting
bloated object, could now hardly recognize her in




184           REPORT, 1852.
the respectable-looking tailoress.  Her feelings
appear to have been awakened to a proper sense of
her condition, and in the deep humility of her spirit,
she has been led to cry earnestly, "Lord, be merciful to me a sinner!"
During the past year we have been indebted to
several gentlemen of religious character, whose
hearts have been touched with sympathy for these
poor wanderers, and their prayers have ascended
to heaven for and with them. Providence has thus
raised friends around them, who are willing to add
their efforts to ours to. train their minds, so that
they may be able to appreciate their advantages,
and be inspired with gratitude towards the Giver
of all good gifts.
Many of our inmates have been under the religious influence that brings peace, and to some we
believe the words of peace have been spoken, and
they can truly say, I rejoice in the Lord, for he has
been my Saviour, my deliverer! I will praise him!
Let all his works praise him!
Our Sabbath afternoon, evening, and mid-week
meetings have been regularly kept up, and on the
Sabbath morning some of our ladies collect the
family, and have Bible and other suitable reading
and conversation.  These Sabbath opportunities
are usually very interesting, and some of us have
felt that it was good for us that we were there. A
sense of the Divine presence has rested upon our
minds, and a portion of it seemed to pervade the
whole assembly. With the exception of the summer months, our school has been in operation, and
considerable progress has been made by some,
while all had the liberty to continue their studies
to the higher branches, if their industry and appli



REPORT, 1852.              185
cation might lead them onward.  Some lectures
have been delivered on Anatomy, Physiology,
Chernistry, etc., and we have now, through the aid
of kind friends, lectures once a week, on scientific,
or moral subjects.
Five evenings in a week are devoted to their
religious and mental improvement, and the other
two to mending their clothing, and attending to
their own particular concerns. Of the necessity of
devoting a great portion of time to mental improvement our friends may judge, by a statement taken
from our Book of Record.
Of 223 individuals who have been inmates, 71
could not read understandingly when they entered,
124 could not write, 105 had been intemperate, 65
were foreigners, 47 Philadelphians, 22 from other
parts of Pennsylvania, the balance from different
parts of America, 59 professed to be Catholics, 52
Methodists, 24 Episcopalians, 28 Presbyterians.
The others scattering, or no religion.
Our subscribers sometimes ask, Can they not by
their labor support the establishment? Our reply
must be, that we do not expect they ever will. Our
Institution is a school, in the fullest meaning. We
do not receive these women for what can be made
out of their labor, but that they may be benefited,
physically, mentally, and morally, by being under
our care. That their organic powers both of body
and mind may be improved, their knowledge increased by the cultivation of their faculties, and
while every effort is made to inspire habits of industry, so much of their time is devoted to educational and moral improvement, that with the necessary periods of relaxation, the hours must be limited
that are given to the pecuniary profit of the Insti16*




186           REPORT, 1852.
tution. Another reason for the small amount accruing from their labor is, that we have to get a
great deal of our work from the shirt and tailor
stores, and the prices given are so low, that for a
great amount of work little is obtained. Another
reason is, that owing to their defective educations,
few of them can be placed on customer work for
months after they are received, and some not at
all, and those who do progress, and become able to
take work on their own account, are permitted to
be considered boarders in the family, and are
charged $1 50 per week fdr board and washing,
and whatever they can earn over that amount is
passed to their credit. The object of this is to
stimulate them to industry, to accustom them to
habits of application, and to inspire them with the
knowledge that they can support themselves honestly by the labor of their own hands. This system of course places the best workers on an independent footing, and deprives the house of the
surplus profits from their work; but we feel bound
to do all in our power for the benefit of the inmates, even if it should be a pecuniary loss to the
establishment.
The depressing and degrading lives which many
of them have led, with the constant use of stimulants, causes them to feel sensibly the change from
scenes of revelry to the quiet of a well-ordered
family. We therefore deem it important that every
hour should be occupied in such a manner that they
may feel that their whole time is devoted for their
own benefit. We might possibly procure more
lucrative work than tailoring, dress or shirt making, but we do not wish our girls to learn trades
that might lead them to depend on shop work, as




REPORT, 1852.              187
we have had sorrowful proofs of the temptations
that surround those who depend on that kind of
employment, owing to the precariousness of their
getting work, and the improper associations into
which they might be thrown. We consider the
family relation as much more advantageous for
them, and our aim is, to qualify them to enter into
such situations as they may be calculated to fill,
with pleasure and profit to their employers, as well
as themselves.
One of our first inmates has now been nearly
four years in the family where she was placed from
the Institution. Three others have been living
about two years in the same families, and at this
time one of our members has three in her employment, filling the stations of seamstress and chambermaid, child nurse, and cook. One has been there
over a year, the second seven months, and the third
three or four months. Some time since, we sent
two into families in one neighborhood in the country. We have since received applications from the
same locality for five more, in consequence of their
good conduct. Eighteen months since, a woman
came to the house of one of our managers, about 9
o'clock at night, asking permission to go to the
Rosine. She had passed down step by step the
path of ruin, until in a state of inebriation she entered one of the dreadful dens of wickedness in
Baker Street. While in a state of insensibility
there, she was stripped of her clothing, and when
sense returned was lying entirely naked on some
straw in one corner. A poor creature, not much
better than herself, threw an old spread over her,
and when evening came, with bare head and feet,
and no article on her person but an old calico wrap



188           REPORT, 1852.
per, she came up to beg the shelter of the Rosine.
Could a more disheartening object appear than this
woman presented? The member to whom she came
would probably have turned from her hopelessly,
but she had received others before in a similar condition, whom she had seen restored to respectable
life, and the affections of a husband and children,
therefore a hope sprang in her heart, that perhaps
this too might be a returning prodigal. The woman was sent to the Rosine, and after a season was
placed with some friends in Jersey, where she has
since been living, a valued member of the family.
We hear frequently of her, and know they would
part with her very unwillingly. Several young
women have come to us from New York and Baltimore. One from the former place was sent by her
friends. She came to the house of one of the managers, who finding she had not been very much
exposed, thought under the circumstances she would
not place her in the Institution, but kept her in
her own house, until a suitable home was provided
for her. She has since married respectably, and is
doing well. A very pretty German girl of fourteen
years of age was sent to us by the mayor of Baltimore. Her mother had died three weeks after her
arrival in this country, and the father took this
child somewhere towards Pittsburg, where he died,
leaving the girl among strangers. She went on
board a canal boat, intending to come to Philadelphia, where she had two uncles residing. The captain of the boat finding she had no company, invited her to go with him to Baltimore, offering to
take her gratuitously, and bring her back to Harrisburg, where she could pursue her route to Philadelphia.  Childlike, she was pleased with the




REPORT, 1852.              189
prospect of going, and went with him; soon she
discovered his object was her ruin. She resolutely
opposed him, and when they arrived in Baltimore
he refused to take her back (fearing she would expose his conduct), and took her down to one of the
lowest sinks of sin in Baltimore, where he left her.
It was heartrending to hear her describe the iniquities she witnessed while in this house, where she
remained a week, when, one of the policemen hearing of a child being there, reported the case to the
mayor, who rescued her, and sent her here, in
charge of one of his officers. Our sympathies and.
indignation were both excited by the story of this
poor girl. She told her uncles' names, but knew
not where they lived. Fortunately we soon discovered the abode of one of them, a respectable
mechanic, and the young traveller was placed in
her uncle's house, who promised she should never
again want a home.
A young man, an entire stranger, called on one
of our members, four years since, to say he had
seen a young girl in a house of bad character, who
had been there but one week. Her youth and
beauty interested him, and when he found she was
from the country, had come to the city in search of
employment, and had been lured to the house by
one with whom she became acquainted at her boarding place, while seeking a situation, his sympathies
were awakened, and he was willing to expose himself in order to save her. Two of our ladies proceeded to the house, found her, and one of them
took her home with her, and kept her there, until
she succeeded in placing her with a married sister.
Afterwards she called several times to see the two
friends who had rescued her, but for the last three




190           REPORT, 1852.
years they had known nothing of her, as the sister
with whom she lived had moved, our members knew
not where. A few days since, one of them had
been out of town, and was returning in a public
conveyance, when she was attracted towards a lady
who sat opposite her, and said, " Have I not seen
you somewhere?" "Yes," said the lady, " my name
is -. I am the sister of Emma." The whole story
flashed upon her mind, and with great interest she
inquired what had become of her protegee?-The
story was soon told. They had moved to another
neighborhood. Emma was married, and at housekeeping. "Do go and see her," said the sister,
she will be so glad to have you come.
We might fill a volume with such histories, but a
few only can be told. These show, that our duties
are far from being confined to the inmates of our
house.  Almost always we have some outdoor
cases which require attention, and occupy considerable time, yet it may not be advisable to place
them in the Institution.
We frequently receive communications requesting us to go to houses of bad character, to endeavor
to save individuals there. We always attend to
such missions. Within a few days an anonymous
letter requested us to visit a young girl, apparently
not more than fifteen, who in consequence of an
advertisement in a newspaper, had been engaged
in such a house, as a domestic. We found her
there, but our visit was unavailing.  She had
breathed the malaria of the atmosphere, and had
become blinded. She saw not the precipice on
which she stood. Reluctantly we left her to her
fate, urging her to come when her eyes should be
opened.




REPORT, 1852.               191
The subject of intemperance, year after year,
has claimed our attention, and we have referred to
it in our reports, as, in nearly every case, where
those who have been under our care long enough
to appreciate their advantages, have returned to
bad habits, liquor has been the cause of their downfall. The opportunities for indulgence in nearly
every square, present constant temptations, by
which even the best resolutions are overcome, and
they are thus induced to become once more the disgrace of humanity.   Impressed with the importance of a change in our laws, in the early part of
this session the managers of the Rosine addressed
a memorial to the Legislature, stating the evils
arising from our liquor laws, and petitioning the
restriction of the sale of malt and spirituous
liquors, to medical and scientific purposes. The
statements we have made in our reports, of the
amount of crime and pauperism produced by liquor,
has caused many reflecting minds to consider the
subject, and created a healthful excitement.
William J. Mullen has laid before the public an
excellent article giving unanswerable statistics, and
the general demand for the liquor law of Maine,
proves that our people are awaking to the vice and
misery around them, and are becoming sensible
that the greater part of it is caused by indulgence
in intoxicating drinks.
Our friends are generally aware, that the Temporary Home for respectable females, who are out
of employment, was brought into existence through
the efforts of some of the managers of the Rosine,
who felt the necessity of another institution, to
prevent young women who were friendless and out
of employment, from becoming the prey of the




192           REPORT, 1852.
tempter, through the necessities of their circumstances. A number of other minds were influenced
to give their efforts to this object, and the Home
was opened 18 months since. Within that period
a temporary home has been given to 395 women
and children, until they could be provided with
situations, and 1250 individuals have been placed
at service through the Intelligence Office of the
Home. It gives us great pleasure to see the successful operation of this association, and we believe
the two societies are doing, and will do, an immense amount of good. Preventive and remedial
efforts are both needed, but if we can procure the
proper restrictions upon the vending of liquors, in
a few years there will be far less occasion for them.
The Intelligence Office of the Rosine has continued its work of usefulness. Since it has been
in operation we have procured situations for about
1400 women and children. These with the 1250
who have gone to places from the Temporary
Home, make 2650 individuals, many of whom,
probably, have been saved from ruin, and placed
in positions to earn their living honestly and respectably.
Is not this truly the work of humanity? Giving
alms is oft times well, but furnishing productive
labor, homes, and respectable associations, is far
better. For this object we claim the sympathy
and assistance of our friends, and the friends of
mankind.
The work-room of the Rosine has never been
conducted more satisfactorily than at present. If
our friends would more generally bring us their
family sewing, we should not be forced to resort to
the stores for employment. If a fair remuneration




REPORT, 1852.                  193
was given for all the work done in the house, our
circumstances would be far more independent than
they are at this time.
The number of garments made in the Rosine
House within the past year, for the use of
the family, has been -                593
Made for the stores and customers, including
85 shirts, 217 vests, 36 pairs of pantaloons,
29 dresses, with sundry other articles, numbering altogether,  -  -             1284
Total, -    - 1877
Bringing to the Institution,  -  -  - $491 33
And to Inmates, working on their own account,   -    -   -    -   -    -  100 00
Our receipts have been,
From the work-room,  -   -   -    -  491 33
Interest on money collected towards the
payment for the House,  -   -   -   180 00
Donations and annual subscriptions,  - 1554 50
$2,225 83
Our expenses have been,
For rent, salaries, clothing, marketing,
fuel, &c., including the funeral expenses
of two inmates,   -    -   -    -$2,098 15
Cash on hand,   -   -    -   -    -  127 68
CERTIFICATE BY AUDITORS.
The undersigned having been appointed by the
Board of Managers of the Rosine Association to
examine the Accounts of the Treasurer, Mira
Townsend, have attended to the duty assigned
17




194            REPORT, 1852.
them, and find the books have been accurately
kept, and are correct in every particular.
MARY M. HASTINGS,
ANNE M. NEEDLES.
9th Month, 19, 1851.
Through the benevolence of our friends, our accommodations have been greatly increased the past
winter. Messrs. Archer & Warner put in the gas
pipes gratuitously, and Cornelius & Co. presented
us with the fixtures. The Gas Company of Spring
Garden put the gas for the year at a nominal price.
To these gentlemen we present our sincere thanks,
and could they be made sensible of the advantages
of our inmates resulting from the difference in the
light, we know they would feel fully paid. To our
physicians, whose services have always been gratuitous, our thanks are also due; also, to our contributors, both in money and goods.
We have had to be beggars from the formation
of the Society; and while Providence continues to
awaken repentance in the erring, with desires for a
better, higher life, we must continue to plead for
them, unless some person, or persons, whose means
and sympathies are co-operative, should relieve us
of this most unpleasant part of our work, by endowing the Institution. Our friends may recollect
we rented the Rosine House on a lease for five
years, with the privilege of becoming the owners at
the end of the time, if we could pay for it. The
price is to be $6,333 33. We have succeeded in
obtaining $3,000, and a friend, well known to the
public for his liberality and benevolence, has promised $500 more toward it. We may truly say
we are ashamed to beg-but how can we cease to
ask, while the existence of the Rosine depends




REPORT, 1852.              195
upon our efforts. We look back with wonder and
gratitude at our past success, and dare not now
lose our hope and faith. Our family has numbered over forty much of the past year; and,
owing to the severity of the seasoh, and the uncommon demands upon the purses of our friends,
we have not been able to collect as much as would
meet our current expenses, and have had to encroach on part of the fund contributed especially
for the purchase of the House.
Need we say more than thus to lay our necessities before our friends, and invite them to send
their contributions to our treasurer or either of the
managers. The lease will expire in July, and we
feel the necessity of exertion at once, that we may
secure a permanent shelter for the most unfortunate class of our fellow-beings.
We have thus presented you with the history of
the Society and of our progress. Two hundred
and twenty-three individuals have been considered
inmates of the Institution, but we have given a
temporary shelter to many others of respectable
character, but homeless and friendless, until we
could procure other homes for them. Our family
is also occasionally enlarged by the return of those
who have formerly been inmates, but who have
been in situations. We desire them always to
consider the Rosine as a parent's house, to which
they can return for safety and with pleasure.
Believing that the Divine power that has hitherto
upheld us will still be extended, and that we shall
continue to receive the aid of the benevolent, we
desire to continue our missionary work, and invite
all ladies who are interested in the cause of Missions, of Temperance, or of other good works, to




196           PRISON   VISITS.
become members of the Society, and thus pledge
themselves to the cause of humanity and virtue.
The Annual Meeting of the Society is held on
the first Thursday in April. The Semi-annual in
October.
Our members and subscribers are requested to
pay their annual contributions at the Store of the
Rosine House, as early as convenient after each
annual meeting.
PRISON VISITS.
We have often spent days in the Prison, going
from cell to cell, and, when particularly attracted,
entering and conversing with the inmates in their
narrow abodes, querying why they were there, and,
in many instances, taking down their names, the
charge against them, and other circumstances of
interest.  Sometimes the investigation of these
cases brings some labor upon us, as many are committed on petty charges, that only require the interference of a respectable person to procure their
release. I knew a poor but respectable woman,
who was returning from her day's work, when, seeing some persons collected on the pavement to witness a quarrel between two women, who had been
drinking, she stopped, and tried to separate them.
Just then a policeman came along, and, in spite of
her protestations of innocence, she was arrested
as a party concerned in the fight, and the alderman, who only heard the policeman's statement,
committed her.




PRISON VISITS.             197
In another instance, a young woman, who lived
with a friend of ours in Jersey, came on a visit to
the city, and, staying longer than she expected, required some clothing washed, and was directed to a
colored washerwoman in Bedford Street. Upon
paying for the washing an altercation ensued between them, the country-girl supposing she was
imposed on by the washerwoman. Both became
angry, and probably spoke louder than politeness
warranted. In the meantime a colored lad, about
nineteen years' of age, came in, with his bundle of
soiled garments, and finding the women disputing,
stood silently listening to their debate. It was
summer time-the door happened to be open, and
a policeman, in passing, heard the angry tones of
the raised voices, and entering, arrested the whole
party on a charge of disorderly conduct. After
they were committed to prison, the country-girl,
who knew we were acquainted with the family with
whom she lived in Trenton, induced one of the inspectors to send a note, requesting our presence in
the prison. We immediately went down, recognized the young woman, and, upon going to the
alderman, procured the release of both the women,
and, at our request, the innocent young man was
also liberated.
In some of these prison visits I have conversed
with about 70 women during the day, and from
their own stories have found that, with few exceptions, their offences have arisen either from drinking themselves, or from being in company with
others with whom the poisonous beverage had been
doing its work. Many unfortunate girls are incarcerated there, whose offences it were hard to
define; but the word "disorderly" on the slate by
17*




198           PRISON VISITS.
the cell-door, covers a multitude of transgressions
or misfortunes, and means almost anything, or
nothing.  In former days it very often meant
merely the cupidity of the policeman and alderman,
who hoped each to get a dollar from the unfortunate
one, or through some sympathizing friend, for their
release. There have been scores of such committals
to the Moyamensing Prison, when the officers who
arrested the unfortunate ones merited the dreary
cell far more than the accused one. We know an
instance where a poor girl was sent to the prison,
who had no dollars to pay for her freedom; but the
officer, on questioning her, found she had a trunk,
filled with good clothing, at her boarding-house.
He went there, and requested the landlady to break
open her trunk, and pawn some of her clothing, to
pay the costs to himself and the alderman. The
woman refused, and he then took out his own keys,
unlocked the trunk, and gave four good dresses to
a colored woman to pawn, directing her to bring
him the money at the alderman's office. Upon receiving it, he went down to the prison with a release, and brought her out, pretending to pity her,
and saying to her, "Mary Ann, I feared you would
die, shut up in the cell, this, hot weather, so I had
to go to your boarding-house, and get some of your
clothing, to pay your costs, and then I came immediately down to release you." With this show of
compassion he salved over his own larceny, and
made the unfortunate one believe he was really entitled to her gratitude.
A lively young widow of the name of A., who
was engaged putting up medicines for the celebrated
Dr. T., on her way one morning to her work, saw
an old man, of whom she had some knowledge,




PRISON   VISITS.           199
sitting on a cellar door, counting over his money.
She stopped and spoke to him, and'picking up his
porte monnaie,,said, jestingly, "If money is plenty,
share it with me." It happened to be near an alderman's office, and a policeman, who was lounging
there, saw the transaction, and arrested the frightened girl, who had only thought of a jest. We
found her in the prison, committed on the charge
of larceny. The next day after our visit there, we
called on Dr. T., and received excellent credentials
as to her character, and then proceeded to the alderman's office, who said he had rendered her case
on his list of committals to the attorney-general,
for the examination of the Grand Jury, but he
would write me a note to Mr. Mann, and endeavor
to withdraw the case. He remarked, that when he
committed Mrs. A., he did not think she ought to
go to prison, but when the officer swore that he had
seen her take the porte monnaie, he had no other
course to pursue... Having received the exculpatory note from the alderman, we then went to
Mr. Mann with our story and document, who kindly
relieved the Grand Jury from the examination of
one case, by giving us an order for the relief of the
jocose but mortified widow.  From  there we returned to the prison, to set the captive at liberty.
None of her friends know of the circumstance, as
she could not bear they should know she was in
prison on a charge of larceny, and she appeared
exceedingly embarrassed about accounting to them
for her absence during the week she had been in
painful durance. We could relate many other interesting cases, among those whom it has been our
good fortune to assist, by procuring their release
from the Moyamensing Castle. They come up as




200           PRISON VISITS.
we write, one after another, in our memory, until we
feel as if we could narrate a whole volume of prison
histories. We have procured the liberation of over
fifty women.  Of some of these we have known
little, but that they were more sinned against than
sinning. We will relate one more history.
MARGARET.
When we went down to the prison with the release of Mrs. A., and that of another woman who
had been committed by her landlady, on a charge
of assault, on account of a little difficulty occurring
between them about some domestic arrangements,
we met the officer there who had the charge of the
Black Maria, or prison van, and inquired for whom
he had come. He said for Miss Margaret S., to go
before the Grand Jury. We had seen Margaret
when we were down at the prison before, and had
been employed in investigating her case. She was
tall and genteel in her appearance, with a face remarkably interesting and lady-like, and only seventeen years of age. Her parents were deceased,
and she lived with her old grandmother, in the
lower part of the city. Margaret had fallen in
love with a young man of whom she knew little,
but that he was good-looking, and professed to
love her. He had said they would be married as
soon as he could get into business to support her,
and with all a woman's faith she placed implicit
confidence in whatever he told her. She had an
uncle, a seafaring man, who came home just then to
her grandmother's, with the fruits of his voyage.
In conversation with her lover, she mentioned that
her uncle had a bag full of money, she knew not
how much, in his chest. This seemed wonderfully




PRISON   VISITS.           201
to increase his affection, and desire to be married,
and with a lover's logic, he managed to convince
Margaret that there would be very little impropriety
in transferring the said bag of money from her
uncle's chest into his possession. With this unknown capital they would get married, and he
could at once go into business. The heart of a
young girl at seventeen is generally easily swayed
by her lover, and her old grandmother had probably
not implanted very strong or clear principles of
justice in her mind. Suffice it to say, Margaret
made the transfer without having the least idea of
the amount of money the bag contained. He also
induced her to go with him to a boarding-house,
while he made the necessary preparations for the
marriage.  She left her grandmother, and went
with him. Before the evening of the same day,
her suspicions were strongly excited as to the character of the house. Among other visitors there
were a couple of men, who inquired if she knew
G. F. She replied she did. "Then," said they,
" do you know anything about his being concerned
in a robbery?" The alarmed girl instantly replied,
"I took the money-he did not take it!"  It appeared that George, with all his charms and attractions to a young girl of seventeen, was a married
man, and had been for some time under the surveillance of the police, and at that period was an
object of suspicion of being concerned in the robbery of a jeweller's shop; and the officers, having
discovered that he had taken Margaret to this house,
which was one of noted bad character, they had
gone there, hoping to ascertain through her something about the jewelry, and proposed the questions
which led to the development of a circumstance of




202           PRISON   VISITS.
which they knew nothing, but with consummate address they obtained from her the history with which
she had been connected. Poor Margaret! The
ride to the Mayor's office was not as she expected,
to pledge her vows to the man she loved. Her
preparations for the bridal hour were suddenly
arrested, and she and her betrothed both consigned
to the cells of Moyamensing Prison.  Her reflections that night were not the anticipations of
the wedded happiness she had expected. Her lover,
in whom she had so much faith, was a married man,
and all those dreams of bliss were blasted. He
had, without doubt, intended to add her to the unfortunate nameless ones of our city. He had induced her to commit an act which had brought sin
and disgrace upon her, and ere life had much more
than dawned, he had crowned her brow with dishonor. And who were the companions that mentally stood by her in that long - night of sorrow?
There was her aged grandmother, who had nursed
and loved and toiled for her, and there was her
uncle, who had been so proud of his beautiful niece,
and whom she had wronged so basely. In the
bitterness of that hour of sorrow, she could have
fallen at their feet, and asked their forgiveness; but
the shadows of her own thoughts were her only
companions, and the prisoner's blanket, on the bare
floor, and the stool beside her, were the only witnesses to her misery.
A friend of ours, who is willing to labor for the
erring and unfortunate, providentially was at the
prison when Margaret arrived there, and was interested at once in her appearance, and after making
inquiries into her case, resolved to do what he could
to extricate her from the consequences of her im



PRISON VISITS.             203
prudence and crime. We also, in our prison visit,
found her there, and heard that our friend had the
case in hand. We saw him, learned what he had
done, and promised him to accompany her to Court.
We found arrangements had been made for the
trial of George for the larceny, and as Margaret
had merely been the "cat's-paw" for him, she was
to be admitted as state's evidence against him.
It was at our subsequent visit to the prison that
we met the officer, who had come to take poor Margaret before the Grand Jury. If our friends feel
as we feel when we see that dismal carriage, called
the Black Maria, which conveys so much misery to
and from the prison, they can understand why we
begged that officer most earnestly to let us escort
her to the Court House in the omnibus. He consented, with that kindness and politeness which we
have received from all the police officers with whom
our position has made us acquainted, and we accompanied Margaret to the door of the Jury Room,
and back again to the prison.
The day of trial came. We sat beside her in
the Court room. We could not bear that one so
young and so lovely should be exposed to the gaze
and remarks of rude persons without the protection
of a friend to shield and guard her from the probable consequences of her folly and error, and we
felt that our proper position in that Court room was
by her side.
George F. was a young man, of respectable appearance, with an attractive countenance, and as
we saw him in the Court room we could readily understand how a girl of seventeen could give her
love and her faith to such a man, and be swayed by
his influence, even against her own convictions of




204           PRISON   VISITS.
the right; and a world of thought passed over us,
as we sat there, of the importance of the proper
training of youth, to fit them, by the instillation
of principles, to meet the varied temptations that
might come in their path to lead them astray. And
we thought of the effort that was made, and the
funds that were raised to send missionaries to the
far-off heathen, while here were the heathen at our
doors, and but little effort made to save them.
Here were a young man and woman to whom the
voice of warning and exhortation had probably
never been particularly addressed. True, they lived
in what is called a Christian community, but their
perceptions were dim of that higher light and intelligence that separates man from the instinctive
animals, and prompts the feelings of that love and
reverence that desires to bring every action to the
footstool of Divine justice, and would humbly ask
from day to day, " Father, am I right? Give me
thy wisdom to illumine my path! Show me the
right, and give me strength to obey thy law in my
heart, and thy teachings from day to day, as thou
seest fit to enlighten my understanding."
The trial progressed. In due season Margaret
was called to the witness stand. The color had
faded from her face, but as she rose from her seat
the rushing blood betokened the inward emotion.
The attorney, Wm. B. Mann, with the perceptive
delicacy of the gentleman, noticed the embarrassment of the unfortunate girl, and ordering a chair
immediately before him, invited her to take the
seat, and thus avoid the painful exposure on the
witness stand. We shall always owe him a debt of
gratitude for that act of kindness, and so will poor
Margaret. When the trial was over, we brought




REPORT, 1852.             205
her home with us, and kept her under our care
three months, because we hoped we might do her
good, and strengthen her for the future combat of
life; and that kind friend who had by his interference saved her from being tried as a criminal, and
in all probability convicted, labored with us to
engraft upon her mind principles, that might arm
her against the temptations and trials that might
lie in her path. When she left us she went to live
with her grandmother, and before a year elapsed
we were told Margaret was the bride of a young
man who had lived in the neighborhood, and they
had gone to take life's journey together, in New
York. Since then we have had no farther knowledge of her history. May that Providence who
raised up friends to shield and save her from
the consequences of that transgression, give her
strength and wisdom to resist every other temptation that may lead to evil.
REPORT OF THE MANAGERS OF THE ROSINE
ASSOCIATION.
President: Annis P. Furness, Pine seven doors beyond Broad Street; Vice-President: Sophia Lewis,
119 Wood Street. Treasurer: Mira Townsend, 43
Arch Street; Secretaries: Mary M. Hastings, 24
N. Schuylkill Eighth Street; Lydia Gillingham, 54
N. Fifth Street.
Managers: Ann S. Campion, 27 Branch Street;
Elizabeth Hunt, Fifth below Green Street; Sarah
J. Webb, 244 Green Street; Rebecca C. Grim,
S. E. corner Sixth and Wagner Street; Elizabeth
Carr, 440 N. Fourth Street; Cynthia Collins,
1]8




206            REPORT, 1852.
Chestnut above Seventh Street; Mary H. Middleton, New below Second Street; Mary Murphy,
corner of Twelfth and Arch Streets; Eliza Yard,
corner of Walnut and Eighth Street; Susan Kimber, Franklin above Green Street; Ellen Lord,
Washington above Tenth Street; Emily Taylor,
272 Walnut Street.
PHILADELPHIA, October 21st, 1852.
The return of each period of making our report
to our members and contributors, always induces the
mental inquiry of, What have we done?   What
have we to tell? We see the marks of our progress constantly accumulating around us, but ours
is a work that we can see, and feel, yet cannot
expose to the world. We cannot say, There is a
woman we have saved! Here is.a young creature
just budding into life that we have snatched from
the hands of the spoiler and placed in a position
where she may become good and useful; or, here is
one who we found in the depths of misery, degraded
and despised, an outcast from all the charities and
decencies of life, an object of loathing even to herself; and now behold her, "clothed, and in her
right mind" sitting at the feet of her Heavenly
Father,' and endeavoring to walk according to the
manifestations of "the right" in her own soul.
These are facts we see, but we cannot uphold the
individual to the public gaze, but rather endeavor
to bury the memory of the past, and blot out (if
possible), even from their own minds, that they
were ever otherwise than they are. Would that
we could cast a lethean oblivion over the temptations, the iniquities, and the horrors of that one sad
period of life, that all could be forgotten, and that




REPORT, 1852.                207
once more in the innocency of childhood those harrowing recollections might sleep forever. But alas!
Though life may more brightness and happiness bring,
No Lethe can o'er it forgetfulness fling.
Though God may speak peace to the penitent soul,
Yet, Man's unforgiveness each thought will control,
And still, like a cloud in its wind-wafted way,
Bring gloom o'er the sunlight of each blissful day.
The youthful mind, to whom the pangs of remorse
are unknown, on whom the look of scorn has never
alighted, can hardly understand the feelings of
these unfortunates in their efforts to rise into the
higher life. Constantly mingled with these undying memories, comes the consciousness, that for
them society has no place, no position; that while
the destroyer who wrought their ruin (or was at
least the partner in their guilt), may still be the
friend and escort of the fashionable, the young, and
the innocent, sometimes the sought and the admired
in the polished circle they (the victim, or at most
the companion in the crime), are turned from with
contempt and aversion as though they were an
accursed thing. Thus the injustice of society upholds the male profligate, while from the erring
woman it.takes every incentive to reformation.
Hope itself dies within their hearts, and with each
taunt, each rebuff, the spirit of despondency revives,
and the consciousness of their inability to regain the
foothold they have lost. This is the especial period
for us to exercise our mission. When the weary,
drooping penitent feels she is friendless, hopeless,
the Pariah of her race, without God in this world,
banishing even him in her thoughts, and endeavoring in the disgusting revel to forget her own responsibility, then is the moment when our charities and




208           REPORT, 1852.
sympathies are doubly claimed, when woman's hand
alone has power to raise and give vitality to the
virtue and hope that lie buried in her heart.'Tis
ours to lead her from temptation's path, convince
her there is a higher, better way, that she can
attain it, and that we will uphold and support her
in her efforts to rise from the slough in which she
was sinking; but in this work we as well as she
have need of enduring patience and prayerful energy; often must the tearful eye be turned heavenward, and the silent supplication be breathed,
" Father, help us!" ere we can feel she has attained
the desired eminence, and with strong integrity of
purpose, can fill and occupy a station of responsibility and usefulness. Yet such has been many
times our experience, and when we have believed
that the heartfelt prayer and orison of praise ascended from truly penitent and grateful lips to the
Father of mercies, our sympathies have mingled
with theirs, and the purest, deepest feelings of our
natures have awakened. The giddy flatterer in the
whirl of fashion, calls the object his imagination has
robed, "an angel," but, if our natures can ever
know the angel living in us, it is when we are endeavoring to raise the lowly, and place them in
the elevated position, Providence (through us) has
opened for them.
In referring to the record of the history of our
inmates, we find the following statement is made of
the last 12 admitted, and this may be considered as
a fair specimen of the situation of these unfortunates, and from this account we may partly trace
the causes of their subsequent misfortunes. No. 1.
Lost her mother at 3 days old-her father died before she was born. No. 2. Her mother died when




REPORT, 1852.              209
she was 4 months old. No. 3. Both parents died
before she was 9 years old. No. 4. Her father died
when she was a babe-her mother a drunkard.
No. 5. Cannot remember seeing either parent. No.
6. Her father died when she was 5 months old.
No. 7. Illegitimate-cast upon strangers. No. 8.
Mother long since dead, and father married again.
No. 9. Both living. No. 10. Father died before
she was born-mother when she was 12 years.
No. 11. Mother died when she was 8 years of age.
No. 12. Both living, but very poor and thriftless.
Yet early orphanage is not always the greatest evil.
The crowded condition of many poor families, a
number of both sexes sleeping in the same room,
drinking, profanity, and other immoralities familiarly -before them from childhood, ever will produce a degree of early corruption that prepares for
every vice in after life.
253 women have been inmates of the Rosine
House, 10 of whom have been married since they
left us, and are living with their husbands. More
of them may have been settled in the same manner,
but as they go to all parts of the country, we have
not always the opportunity of hearing from them,
and cannot report their histories. A number have
been Testored to their families, from whom they
had long been separated.  Many are living in
situations where they are earning their living
honestly and creditably. One has lately left us, a
girl of sixteen, who has won friends who are willing
to give her a good education, and all the advantages
that money and kindness can bestow. Another,
who a few weeks since passed away to the spiritland, was among the earliest objects of our careone of our managers found her in the Almshouse.
18*




210           REPORT, 1852.
She had been reared in the bosom of affluence, but
the blight had fallen upon her. Her brothers and
sisters were among the princes of the land, but she
was the alien, the outcast from their homes and
their affections; no hand was stretched forth to
elevate or sustain her, and in the bitterness of her
heart she was ready to curse her kindred and her
existence. She became after a period an inmate in
the home of her new friend, and lived with her
three years. The touch of humanity softened her
feelings, and the kindly influences around her
awakened her better nature. She saw she had not
passed the boundary of sympathy, but that down
as low as she had gone the eye of Providence had
followed her, and inspired hearts to draw her to
themselves, and infuse into her being the faith and
the hope that was living in them. As years passed
away, she became a member of one of our churches,
and mingled with those to whom her early history
was unknown. She was esteemed and respected,
and when, within the past year, her health declined,
and she knew she was bound to the unknown bourne,
calmly, peacefully, and joyfully she awaited the
messenger, and to her former friend, and to others,
frequently expressed her gratitude and praise. As
some of us stood beside her coffin, and reviewed her
past life, we retraced our first meeting in the Almshouse, a lonely, friendless wreck, and followed her
on in her upward progress, until now, when we believed she had passed to that better land to which
our hopes are bending. Her day's work was done,
she had received the penny-kind and sympathizing
hands smoothed her dying pillow, and "Good
Samaritans" administered the oil and the wine.
Gratitude and praise was the aspiration of our spirits
as we leaned over the white-robed form before us.




REPORT, 1852.              211
Another who came to us from the Almshouse
soon after we opened the Rosine (who was of respectable parentage in the South), but who had
wandered from her home when only seventeen, was
also abandoned by her relatives, and lived several
years in violation of conscience. Soon after coming
under our care, her quiet deportment and unaffected
penitence won our esteem, and after leaving the Institution, she too became a church member, and, we
believe, desired to be a consistent one; integrity and
industry marked her conduct, and has secured her
a home among highly respected friends. A few
weeks since, a brother of hers, who had been watching her upward progress, came to the city to take
her back to her relatives. Ofttimes, when speaking
of the Rosine, her eyes have filled with tears, and
her trembling lips have pronounced blessings upon
the Institution and its supporters. She feels that
through it all that is worth living for has been restored to her, and the pathway opened to a bright
and happy future.
But it is our task not only to reclaim those who
have been long in the path of error, but also to arrest the young just passing the boundaries of virtue,
and avert the intended evil from the innocent and
unsuspecting. In consequence of our connection
with the Society, cases frequently come under our
care, and require considerable time and attention,
that we never place in our Rosine family, and many
of them have been attended with the happiest consequences. To one of these we may refer. A
young woman called upon one of our managers,
looking exceedingly poor and in ill health; she was
an orphan, from New Jersey, and had come, as is
frequently the case, for better wages and the enjoy



212            REPORT, 1852.
ment of city life from the quiet of her country
home. She lived some months in a family, conducting herself with perfect propriety, when, in an
unfortunate hour, she formed an acquaintance with
one who, under a marriage engagement, planned
and effected her ruin, and then absconded. Resolving to hide her shame, she took boarding with
a poor family, and having saved some money previously, managed with the sewing she could get to
pay her board. But after a time her money was
expended, and her endeavors were vain to procure
a situation in a family with her child. In this condition, her clothes, piece by piece, were pawned;
the winter came, and she had no garments suitable
to meet its blasts; her feet were nearly shoeless,
she had no resources to pay her board, and her
landlady was herself struggling to keep her little
family together; destitution and desperation sat
side by side in her chamber; evening came, she
laid her babe in the bed, and went to the street.
Those only who have passed through the same can
know her feelings that night; she had erred, but
the love of virtue was yet in her heart, and she had
hoped that her future life might atone for the past,
but in the struggles of misery and starvation, she
had not the courage to lie down beside her babe and
die; she returned that night with a deeper load of
sin upon her soul, but the money she procured
brought her bread and some clothing. " I never
went to the street," she said, " but when work failed,
and I had no other resource." Thus she passed
some months of wretchedness, when providentially
she heard of the Rosine. Let the base, heartless
profligate who plans the ruin of an innocent girl,
look upon this picture-it is no romance, but one of




REPORT, 1852.              213
numberless histories, which, if they were brought
to the light, would shock every heart containing
one atom of humanity. But the villain who would
thus leave his victim in the misery of her circumstances, we meet in the circles of society, politely
waiting upon the gay and the young, lavishing his
attentions that the air may not blow too rudely on
some fair lady, or bending gracefully to pick up
her fan or her bouquet.
We could not receive the babe in the Rosine, nor
could we separate it from its mother, but another
home was procured, and in a few weeks the words
of consolation and of hope brightened her eye, and
brought the hue of health to her cheek. A situation
was then procured for her, where she continued for
about a year, during which time she became acquainted with a dress-maker in the neighborhood,
who introduced her to a gentleman, a respectable
merchant, to whom she has been married some
months.
A few days since she called upon our manager,
whom she first sought, to invite her to visit her.
She was then elegantly dressed, and with deep
emotion referred to her first visit, and her situation
at that period. "Now," said she, "I am comfortably settled, and my husband is as fond of my boy
as if he were his own-I owe all this to you!"
The recital of a very few such histories is sufficient to show the importance of such an association
as the Rosine, and, were the number of active
managers quadrupled, they could not attend properly to all the cases that present, that require
time, effort, and investigation. In our visits to the
Moyamensing Prison we always feel the necessity
of a committee possessing time, energy, and feel



214            REPORT, 1852.
ing, to take an interest in the cases of many individuals that are enclosed within its walls. Such a
committee should visit there every week, but our
numerous engagements preclude our attending to
this duty as we should. Some of our members
have, by their interference, rescued a number of
women from this tomb of the living. When women
of the more respectable class are arrested, they
naturally shrink from  exposure, and those who
could aid them know little or nothing of their circumstances, or what to do for them. The day of
trial comes.  The poor woman has probably no
witnesses on her behalf, and the judge must sentence according to the evidence. Thus, an error
committed in a moment of temptation or indiscretion,
blasts the character, and stamps with the infamy of
a convict those who perhaps desire to be good, and
who might have been saved from even appearing in
court, if they had been properly befriended at the
right period.
Within a few days, a young woman of estimable
character was rescued from probably months or
years of confinement, on a charge of larceny, when
we have every reason to believe the act was committed only as a jest. But she had no proofs of
her intention, and could not bear to let her friends
know of her incarceration. By our efforts the case
was arrested just as it was going before the grand
jury.
An interesting, attractive-looking girl of seventeen was lately found in the prison by two of our
members. She was there on a charge of larceny.
A friend of our Institution, a gentleman, also became interested for her, and through his efforts she
was saved. Our members who found her, attended




REPORT, 1852.              215
court, and sat beside her, and when she was released, took her with them. She was a motherless
child, cast upon the world to earn her bread as best
she might. Like many another unfriended girl,
sometimes she had work and sometimes not. At a
period when the work had failed, and she was
penniless, she became acquainted with a young man
of very prepossessing appearance, who won her
affections. His arts surrounded her, and she became his victim, and, still farther to sink her into
sin, at his instigation, and through his persuasion,
he induced her to commit a larceny, with the promise that he would then marry her. Discovery
immediately ensued, and both were arrested. Her
artless truthfulness interested those who saw her,
and she has been rescued, while the unprincipled
seducer (who has been discovered to be already
married), is suffering the penalty of crime in the
prison. Through the influence of our friends she
has been placed in a respectable family, where she
will be guarded, protected, and encouraged to strive
to regain a respectable position in life.
Our reports would be enlarged to volumes did we
narrate half of the cases that claim our time and
attention. We regret that the cause of humanity
should suffer, owing to our pecuniary circumstances,
but while the time and energies of our managers
have to be so constantly employed in the various
duties of the Association, and collecting the funds
to support it, these cases must consequently be
neglected. From year to year we hope that Providence will open the hearts of some of those who
have the means to endow the Institution, that we may
be relieved from the necessity of being beggars, and




216           REPORT, 1852.
can appropriate the time now spent in that manner
to the performance of other duties.
We have mentioned in our reports that we had
taken the Rosine House on a lease for five years,
with the condition that (if we could raise the funds),
we should become the purchasers at any time within
that period. The lease expired July 31st, and two
weeks previously, the Society became the owner of
the property. But we had not the means to pay
for it entirely.  A ground-rent of $1,333 still
remains upon it, and we were forced to borrow
$1,500 from a friend to enable us to make the
arrangement-thus we still owe $2,833 upon the
property. We started the Society with a large
capital of faith, and that faith has not decreased,
and we now believe that He who has prompted
hearts to aid us thus far will not desert us in the
future, but as we aim to act according to the light
that is given us, our Association will be, as it has
been, a blessing to many. The price of our house
was $6,333 33. When we consider that $3,300
of this sum has been collected within five years,
besides supporting a family, sometimes numbering
over forty, we feel we have cause for gratitude, and
when we see how extended our field of labor has
become, we truly desire that our time, our strength,
and the number of laborers may be increased. If
we fulfil our duty we dare not sit with folded hands,
and shrink from the sacrifices that must be made.
But they are not really sacrifices. We must of
course frequently resign our enjoyment of ease, and
social pleasures-we cannot feel our time is our
own, or at our command; but the consciousness of
having benefited some of our fellow-beings, of
saving some of those unfortunates from the sink of




REPORT, 1852.              217
perdition, and placing them in a right position in
life, opens to us that millennium state that we shall
never see outwardly, and that only good works and
praiseful hearts can enable us to experience-thus
we do not really make sacrifices, but resign a lower
enjoyment for a higher; the millennium comes to us
in our spirits, and here we can feel the lion and the
lamb lie down together, and know a peace that far
surpasses the personal gratifications we have resigned.
An esteemed friend, who lent us the $1,500, in
addition to his annual contribution presented us
with $500 towards the payment for our House.
Sixty-one dollars were sent anonymously for the
same purpose, and a number of other persons aided
us in raising the amount paid. To these friends,
and to our other contributors, we would present
our thanks; but we know they gave because they
believed it to be right, and they look only to their
consciences for their reward or praise.
But even the possession of our House does not
entirely satisfy us. Within the past year a number of women have been refused admission into the
Institution, in consequence of our crowded condition-we have frequently had several beds upon
the floor, and then had to refuse applicants. In
this situation, we have looked wistfully at the
lots beside us, which could be procured had
we the means, so as to enlarge our accommodations-but our poverty and our debt rise before
us; yet have we faith and hope-and when we
turn the weary wanderer from our door, we cannot
but think of the hoarded wealth in our city, and
believe that Providence will open an additional
stream of charity, to enable us to pay what we
19




218           REPORT, 1852.
owe, and increase our means of extending aid,
protection, and encouragement, to those degraded
daughters of misery.
Our visits to the prison continually impress us
with the importance of having yet another institution. It is a House of Industry for drunkards and
disorderly persons. Such individuals are nuisances
in the community; and, instead of being allowed
to disgrace their families by being continually
arrested and sent to prison upon short sentences,
to spend their time idly and be a tax upon honest,
industrious citizens, they should be placed, with
longer sentences, in a House of Industry, where
they should be made to work, not only to support
themselves, but also contribute to the maintenance
of their families.
In examining the cases of the young women who
come under our care, we find the generality of them
have been orphans at an early age, or have been
the children of inebriates: should it not become a
question whether drunkards should have the right,
not only to tax the community with their support,
but with that of a race of beings predisposed by
their organization to the same vice and its concomitant evils.
Investigations have been made in New York,
which have resulted in the revelation of facts
revolting to humanity, in regard to the outcast
children in that city. The Warden of the City
Prison says, "that nearly one-half of the persons
arrested for petty offences have not attained the
age of 21 years; and, that out of 16,000 criminals
committed to the Tombs, 4,000 were under 21, and
of these, 800 were between the ages of 9 and 15of the 2,400 thieves confined there, 1100 were




REPORT, 1852.              219
under 21."  Mr.' Matsell, the Chief of the Police,
says, "from the reports of eleven districts it appears, that 2,955 children are engaged in these
wards alone, in pilfering, begging, prostitution,
and immoralities, of the most loathsome description, and of these, two-thirds are females, between
eight and sixteen years of age." If similar investigations were made in this city, we hope the result
might not present such fearful facts; yet, can we
expect anything better, when we are surrounded by
more than 3,000 taverns and beer-houses, and 800
houses of immoral character are open every night,
and in some of these children may be found of from
nine to twelve years of age. We have girls now
in the Rosine who entered this course of life at
that early period.
We have always been doubtful of the benefits to
be derived from the action of the police in regard
to houses of this character. Some months since,
the keepers of twenty-five houses, in the neighborhood of Fourth and Plum Streets, were indicted.
Many of our citizens rejoiced, supposing by this
course the evil would be suppressed; but, arrangements were made, that, if they would remove, nothing farther should be done. And what is the
consequence? If those persons removed, others of
no better character occupy their places, and these
dislodged keepers opened houses in other parts of
the city that had been comparatively pure, and
carried into these twenty-five neighborhoods the
ruinous and seductive influences that had made
Plum  Street a perfect nuisance-a moral miasma,
teeming with misery, degradation, and death.
Two or three years since, the same course was
pursued in Elizabeth Street and Portland Lane.




220           REPORT, 1852.
The houses were indicted, the police absorbed all
the money that could be drained from the unfortunate women, and they were then released to open
houses of the same character in other parts of the
city, thus spreading the moral and physical corruption. This state of affairs calls loudly for a suitable House of Correction and Industry, where all
persons indicted for keeping improper houses
should be placed, where they could be surrounded
by reformatory influences, and where, with the
drunkard, they should be forced to labor for their
own support, and for the maintenance of their
families. Very many of these women have children, some of whom have sufficient principle to
support them away from themselves, and in ignorance of their habits of life; but the downward
course of these persons is generally so rapid, that
the children are usually subjected to the evils of
orphanage, or are surrounded by such examples
and circumstances, that they may be said to be
living without God in the world, and all the knowledge they have of him is learned from the oaths
they are taught to lisp in babyhood. These are
truly the heathen! Need we wonder at the number of profligate and immoral women who crowd
our city, when we are able thus to trace whence
they come, and see year after year the unfortunate
race increasing, and causing the necessity of the
great police force, which, with all its efforts, cannot suppress the disorders in our midst.
But were our city filled with police, and in every
street a prison, like the one in Moyamensing, still
nothing would be done for the reformation of these
persons. Too long have we considered punishment
as reformation. The visitors of the County Prison




REPORT, 1852.              221
do not expect reforms to be effected there, and
they never can be under its present organization;
but in an Industrial Institution, aiming expressly
to benefit the inmates, much good might be effected
and great evils prevented. An obstacle may present itself to some minds in regard to the difficulty
of procuring work, but our army and navy contracts, which now serve to enrich only a few individuals, might be obtained, and thus a great supply
of employment be thrown into this channel for both
men and women. Caps, shoes, shirts, coats, pantaloons, &c., might all be manufactured there; and
why should the vast shoe trade of the country be
absorbed by the Eastern States, when our own citizens should be thus employed?
The many unfortunates who require our care,
under their various circumstances, awaken new
fields of thought, and bring to our minds new necessities.
The importance of a temporary home for friendless.women and children first presented itself, and
that has been brought into operation, and is at present in the full tide of usefulness. Now we feel the
necessity of another institution, and desire to bring
the subject, for consideration, before the community. We believe it to be of vital importance, and
urge our friends to demand it of the proper authorities.
The number of women who have been provided
with situations from our Institution and Intelligence Office amount to 1595. From the Temporary Home, 1791-making, from the two Associations, 3,386 women and children. Had the Rosine
done nothing else but thus be the means of aiding
and procuring employment for 3,386 persons, it
19*




222             REPORT, 1852.
would have effected a great work; but no one can
estimate the amount of evil that may have been
prevented, or the number of women that may have
been saved from sin and misery.
The garments made within the past year for
the Rosine family, number  -  -  -  535
Made for customers, including 161 shirts, 392
vests, 97 pairs of pantaloons, 104 dresses,
48 pairs of drawers, 55 sun-bonnets, and
sundry other articles, amounting to -  - 1302
Total, for family and customers,  - 1837
The receipts from the work-room have been,
from October 1st, 1851, to October 1st, 1852, $557.
Of this amount, $204 29 have been credited to
girls who have learned trades in the Institution, and
are now considered boarders, and who pay $1 50
per week for their board and washing. All they
can earn over that amount is at their own disposal.
The amount of board received is $146 50. In another year, should the same individuals continue
with us, we hope the surplus over their board will
be greater, as from practice they will acquire increased rapidity, and can accomplish more, and the
excellence of their work will produce a more profitable custom.
Treasurer's Accountfrom Oct. 1st, 1851, to Oct. 1st, 1852.
The receipts from the workroom have been,  -  -   -   -   $557 00
Deducting $204 29, earned
by girls who are boarders,
the remainder is  -  - $352 71
Per board of inmates working for themselves, -  -  146 50
Per subscriptions and donations,  -  -    -   - 2,287 41




REPORT, 1852.                 223
Interest on donations towards
the purchase of the house,  192 10- 2,978 72
EXPENSES.
For rent, salaries, fuel, clothing, marketing, &c., -2,583 81
Balance, -    - $394 91
HOUSE ACCOUNT.
Paid for Rosine House, by donations received at various dates for that purpose,    -   -    -- $2,200 00
By mortgage on the House held by the
Association,                     1,300 00
By cash borrowed from a friend, -  - 1,500 00
$5,000 00
The ground-rent remaining on the property, of                        1,333 33
Makes the full amount -  -  -   - $6,333 33
Debt remaining on Rosine House, by
cash borrowed, -      -          1,500 00
By ground-rent,  -      -          1,333 33
$2,833 33
We have thus made a statement to our members
and contributors of our pecuniary affairs, and some
few facts connected with our operations; but, to the
public, we can never reveal the heart-rending stories
of those who claim our care and demand our sympathies, nor, as they enter again into the business
and responsibilities of life, can we point them out
as having been the recipients of your bounty, and
the objects of the ministrations and blessings of
the Rosine House. But, in that coming future,




224            A VALENTINE.
when all things are known, and they and ourselves
must be judged, not by our deeds, but by our motives, and the circumstances that surrounded and
operated upon us, perhaps some of these despised
ones may precede us to the throne of mercy, and
meet us, as we enter the spirit-land, with the joyful
message, " Inasmuch as ye did it unto the least of
these, ye did it unto me."
Our members and contributors will please pay
their subscriptions to the Store-keeper, at the Rosine House; or to the Treasurer, Mira Townsend,
No. 43 Arch Street-by so doing, it will prevent
the necessity of being called on.
The Annual Meeting is held on the first Thursday in April.
A VALENTINE
TO MY DAUGHTER IN THE COUNTRY.
My Daughter dear, dost thou incline
To greet once more a rhyming line?
And, can thy Mother's rhymes impart,
A glow of pleasure to thy heart?
I know they can, for I have been
Blest by a Mother's love,
And I have known, and felt, and seen,
Ere she went home,-aboveThat, in the holy name of Mother,
There was a charm owned by no other.
Years passed away, and she passed too,
Translated into glory,
Time's phonographic hand revealed
Of eighty years the story;




A VALENTINE.                  225
His tale was told, in hoary hairs,
And wrinkles, brought by pains and cares.
And yet, our Mother never seemed
To us beyond her prime;
There was a freshness in her heart,
That took in every age a part,
Still unimpressed by time.
Whene'er I think of her, there comes
A dimness in my sight;
A starting tear springs from its well,
That does not grief or sadness tell,
But simply says, that she was not
A Friend, Corhpanion, Sister, Brother.
One word reveals that she was all,In life's young days, she was our Mother I
I ask not for thee, Daughter, wealth,
But common sense I crave,
And moral sense to act the right,
And be no fashion's slave.
I ask for thee a consciousness,
Of what may be the rightA mental strength, that will not fail
In following that light.
I ask not for thee happiness:
The good are ever blest;
If they pursue where duty calls,
The Father gives the rest.
It may be o'er a troubled sea,
May be a Martyr's life;
A scene of combat and of toil,
Of trial, pain, and strife.
Yet, still,'mid these, what glorious thoughts,
What angel whispers cheer,
When, through each scene, in humble faith,
They feel the Father near.
And still, as toils or trials come,
The childlike state is won;




226             A VALENTINE.
Love, reverence, and faith have voiceFather! Thy will be done.
Year after year, my spirit strove
To be in truth resigned,
To feel myself the plastic clay,
To yield resistless to the sway
That governs matter,-mind.
I had, in my imaginings,
My future dressed in flowers;
Tle toil of life I thought was o'er,
Ease spoke of leisure hours;
Books offered what was dearer still,
The treasures that their pages fill;
But yet, I saw it clearly,
Plainly as words could tell,
There was a work before me,
Which, like a magic spell,
Was ever in my vision;
It was my thought by day,
It dwelt upon my pillow,
And, with unyielding sway,
Became my one idea.
I saw, with prophet's eye,
Shape after shape assuming
Forms of reality.
I felt, and I believe it,
That, up to Heaven's throne,
The wail of crime and wretchedness,
In tears and prayers had flown;
And I believed the sinner's prayer
Was heard, and had acceptance there.
Then, then I felt my pleasure, ease,
My time, my strength were claimed,
For those whom crime and woe had sunk,
Whom foul dishonor named.
And then I felt, first truly felt,
Submission's point was won,




A VALENTINE.                 227
And I could say in word, and deed,
Father! thy will be done!
I laid upon the altar, then,
The hopes of many a year,
The promised leisure, books, and ease,
When fruitage time seemed near.
The joys and charms of social life,
That round my heart entwined,
Amusements, lectures, pleasures, all,
Were one by one resigned.
Not with resisting spirit, but
With faith, time cannot move,
Resolved to follow what might seem
The pointings from above.
And now, with faith unchanged, undimmed,
My mission I pursue,
And only ask that I may cleave,
Still, to the right and true.
But think not, Daughter dearmy days
Are days of toil alone;
That happiness and leisure hours
Are equally unknown.'Tis true, I lead a vagrant life,
And beg from door to door,
And sue for those I truly deem
The poorest of the poor;
The homeless outcast is my theme,
The child of sin and shame:
For her I plead, yet dare not speak,
Her sad, dishonored name.
The guilty dome, the haunt of vice,
Where profligates repair,
I ofttimes seek, in hopes to draw
Some victim lambs from there.
The pris'ners small and gloomy cell
Familiar now has grown,
And, in its silence, some have learned,
To know my step and tone.




228             A VALENTINE.
When there, sometimes my name is called,
From some far-distant spot;
For misery treasures mercy's tones,
Her step is ne'er forgot.
My Daughter! should'st thou ever be
Prepared to act my part,
Then, only, canst thou realize
The joy that lights my heart,
When at each door I turn the key,
And know a blessing waits for me.
Before me, on the table, now
Six Valentines are laid;
Tokens of love and gratitude,
In humble guise arrayed,
All from Rosines. And these, my child,
More pleasure can impart
Than costly gifts, or gems, or gold,For these bespeak the heart.
In some degree, I now can know,
The joy that is in Heaven,
When one repentant sinner turns,
And asks to be forgiven.
Thus occupied, my thoughts and hours
Are ever fleeting now,
The days too short-the midnight oil
Oft lights my thoughtful brow.
But cheerful, bright, my days, my eves,
Elastic nerve and mind,
For inward peace gives outward strength
To bear, and be resigned:
And oft I think my peace is like
Some gently-flowing stream,
That springs in mountain heights above
From the unfailing fount of love,
And joyful, in the beam
Of day and light, still wends its way,
Receives the dew, and gives its spray.




CHRISTMAS AT THE ROSINE.             229
This letter, Darling, I had thought
To send thee, at the time
When lovers are allowed to tell
Their fondest hopes in rhyme.
Not that, to thee, I could not speak
My feelings every day,
But that each season may be passed
In some instructive way."
And I would wish, that throughout time
We each may act a part,
That every thought and deed may find
Response in either heart;
That love may not be breathed alone,
As seasons come and go,
But, like the gentle stream, roll on
In one perpetual flow,
Until the golden gate of life
May ope-the goal be wonAnd angel voices welcome both,
With, " All is well! well done!"
THY MOTHER.
A CHRISTMAS AT THE ROSINE-1852.
" Christmas! a bright, happy Christmas to you! A
merry Christmas!" was the cry resounding through
the Rosine House, on the morning of the joyful
anniversary. True, the sky was unpropitious, and
the rain descended on the bespattered pedestrian
as he wended his way churchward, or in search of
pleasure. But no sky lowered in the Rosinebright smiles were on every face, and a busy air of
importance, as if each one felt that the enjoyment
of the whole rested upon her shoulders. The work29




230    CHRISTMAS AT THE ROSINE.
rooms, divided by large folding doors, were thrown
into one, and wreaths of evergreen, intermixed
with artificial flowers of domestic manufacture, were
twined around the door casings, the framed rules,
the looking glass, the gas fixtures, some scripture
pictures, and the portrait of " Our Mother," that
graced the wall over the mantel-" Our Mother"
was the mother of two of the founders of the Institution, and the words upon her tombstone, " Our
Mother! she taught us how to live, and how to die,"
seemed to have been an accepted lesson, so far,
that some of her children felt bound to labor for
the lowly and the outcast, and the feeling in the
Rosine, is, " Had it not been for the teachings of
that mother, the Rosine might not have come into
existence, and we would have had no home, no
friends, no character, no hope; therefore we must
look upon her as our mother!"
I have seen a Rosine who was given to somnambulism, rise from her bed and kneel before that
portrait, and cross her arms with a devotional air,
then rise and touch the picture, and kiss the hand
that had been placed upon it, and kneel again exclaiming, " It is a saint!"
The reverence of the Rosine was thus beautifully
mingled with the feelings of gratitude, that unconsciously displayed themselves, even in sleep, thus
proving the truth of the sentiment, " The good that
is in us never dies." The good that had animated
the mind of that mother, lived in the heart of the
grateful Rosine, and to her, even in sleep, she was
a saint.
But " Christmas! Merry Christmas!" rang from
lip to lip, as the tables were arranged, and the
thousand and one little fixings prepared for the




CHRISTMAS AT THE ROSINE.          231
day and the dinner. The busy needles and scissors,
and all the paraphernalia of every-day industry,
were hidden out of sight, and each lent their aid
as it was called for, in the busy preparations.
Several friends of the Institution had contributed
towards providing the feasts for the day, and the
Superintendent had made her arrangements, so
that all moved in beautiful harmony. The industrial group of other days was the industrial group
of the holiday, and light feet, and light hearts, and
active hands proved the advantages of associated
labor. The table extended the length of the two
rooms, and places and seats were arranged for upwards of. forty persons. Four fine turkeys and as
many chickens, with sundry vegetables and sauces,
sent forth their inviting odor, and the family took
their positions at the cheerful Christmas board.
To many of the inmates such a table was a
novelty. Though accustomed in the Institution to
good and wholesome fare, yet smoking turkeys
emitted an inviting perfume that was perfectly irresistible; and while the utmost decorum reigned,
and each appeared to be sitting quietly, yet the
whole party were such travellers, and so well versed
in geography, that American politics were soon
deserted for a free and familiar discussion upon
Turkey and grease, of both of which they seemed
fully to understand the attractive philosophy, and
showed as little conscience in appropriating to
themselves, as if they had been Russian or Austrian despots. No toasts were drank or speeches
made, to be recorded by news reporters, but the
incense from grateful hearts arose to Heaven, and
bore the record of that Christmas dinner there.
Again the table was a blank! Active hands and




232    CHRISTMAS AT THE ROSINE.
feet soon changed the scene, and in pleasant discourse and hymns of praise, the afternoon passed
away. Some of the Managers and some friends
came in to say "l How do?" and give the civilities
of the season, and a part remained to conclude the
day with them. Some of the younger members of
the family had asked permission to go to church,
and others to take a walk to see Christmas; but
they-had been induced to consent to be happy at
home, and a brighter, happier family than that at
the Rosine, Kriskingle has rarely seen, even though
loaded with gifts as he passed over his wide domain
on the merry anniversary.
Evening came. Again the board was spread,
and fruit, and nuts, and cakes displayed their
temptations.  AgaiR the seats were filled, and
solemn silence reigned. It was an affecting sight,
every head was bowed-every eye bent downward,
but tears glistened upon some cheeks there, and
orisons of thanks and praise were the outpourings
of grateful hearts. Had those who contributed to
create this happiness been present, they would have
experienced a mental enjoyment far higher than
the possession of the golden dollars could have
given, and the words of Him, whose birth the day
celebrated, would have glided into their souls as
though they were then first uttered, "Inasmuch as
ye have done it to the least of these, ye have done
it unto me." Many of those present were orphans,
who had never known parental care. One, whose
mother died when she was three days old, and
whose father's path had been upon the rolling
waves, while stranger hands had ministered to the
necessities of nature. Several could not recollect
either parent, and some only one, and connected




CHRISTMAS AT THE ROSINE.            233
with that one, was the enduring struggle for bread.
To these, Christmas brought not the hallowed associations of blessed childhood, that cluster and bud
from year to year in the unending wreath of family
affection. To many, cultivation of mind was unknown, some scarcely knew a letter in the alphabet,
and to some, previously to entering the Rosine, the
history of Him whose birth they were commemorating, was as little understood as the changes of
the seasons, and the reverence for his character
was as indistinct as their belief in ghosts and fairies.
Some there were to whom the higher light had
been given, and to whom the sacred texts were
familiar, but in every heart there was a witness that
revealed the inspeaking impressions of Deity, giving
them, in all the depravity through which they had
passed, a consciousness of right and wrong, and
bringing them peace or remorse, as they attended
to its manifestations and promptings. True, like
Samuel, they did not recognize the voice that spake
to them. Many of them, in recounting their history, have said, " Something seemed to tell me it
was wrong;" but their perceptions had not been
cultivated or attended to, and they understood not
that the revelation from  the Divine mind to our
minds,
Is like the trembling of a leaf, the murmur of a rill,
Scarcely perceptible at first it seems so calm and still:
Yet, heeded once, it comes again-perhaps with louder tone,
And seems a thought which nature prompts, an impulse of
our own;
But, when obeyed and understood, it louder tones imparts,
Than outward sounds-the Father speaks, within our minds
and hearts.
But to many of the forty women who sat around
20*




234    CHRISTMAS AT THE ROSINE.
that Christmas table, new lights had been gleaming, and while from day to day they were imbibing
the lore in the sacred pages, there was a language
that to them had no mysteries. It was that of
love and gratitude.
But the feast is over. One of the managers who
remained, then produced a roll, saying, " Here is
an article of dress for each one, if she will make it
to-night." Hands and voices were both raised in
reply, as "I will! I will!" resounded through the
room. Scissors, thimbles, and needles were soon
in requisition, and a few minutes of preparation
presented as busy a scene in the manufacturing department, as the table had shown in the discussion
of nuts, cakes, and apples.
In the meantime the evening hymn was raised,
and the full hearts in melodious tones gave utterance to thoughts they knew not otherwise how to
express. To some of them it had been not merely
a holiday, but a holy-day. Their best feelings had
been developed, and the memory of the Christmas
of 1852, will be as a blessed memorial forever.
The busy hands have accomplished the work, and
each girl's name has been written with indelible
ink on the article she has made. Again the anthem is raised-the friends depart-one by one the
inmates retire, and the Rosine House is hushed in
silence.




REPORT, 1853.              235
REPORT OF THE MANAGERS OF THE ROSINE
ASSOCIATION.
PHILADELPHIA, April 1st, 1853.
In presenting the Annual Report of the Rosine
Association, to April, 1853, the Managers feel that
the Members and Contributors to the Society, look
for a progress corresponding with the advance of
the age, in moral, mental, and mechanical developments. But in our work, from year to year, the
progress is marked by the number we are able to
receive under our care, and thep, when the fitting
period comes, to send them forth to labor in the
world's work, not with the stamp of infamy upon
their brows, but bright and hopeful, feeling their
destiny lies in a great degree in their own hands;
that now they have a home to which they can turn
as to a parent's house, and friends to whom their
progress is cheering, who will gladly counsel and
befriend them in any exigency that may occur, and
a shelter always open to receive them while their
conduct merits approval. We cannot make good
women, but we can throw -good influences around
the erring that may kindle the spark of good that
was slumbering in them, and give them a consciousness that it is there, that it may be developed and
cultivated, and bring forth good fruit; and this is a
great work, and the grand secret of our success,
lies in convincing these degraded ones, that they
can become good, and do good, and that we believe
it. If the doubt of their capacity lives in our own
minds, it is communicated to theirs as with magnetic
influence, therefore it is only those whose hearts
are enlarged by the truest charity, and the largest




236           REPORT, 1853.
hope, who can become efficient workers in the
cause of humanity. The faith that is in ourselves
must be transferred into them, as the virtue went
out of Jesus, even by the touch of the garment.
Much effort has been wasted, and means employed
by reformers to little avail, because they, themselves, were deficient in the great-elements of success, the want of faith in God and man. Prisons
have arisen, and been crowded everywhere, and the
Inquisition opened its doors of misery, because man
has doubted his brother, and wanted to reform him
in his own way, and in his blindness could not see,
that the reformer must begin in his own life, and
show by his own purity and goodness, and love and
mercy, that these principles existed in himself, and
that he had faith that they lived also in his brother's heart, though they might be covered up and
hidden by the circumstances that had caused his
condemnation. But punishment and contempt have
never been the pathway into the inner man, and
there lies the only spot to labor effectually. We
must not only take him by the hand, but we must
creep into his heart, and make him feel there is
good there, and we know it, and that we will help
him to cultivate it, and clear away the weeds and
the thorns that have covered it up, and we will aid
him to bring it out in the clear sunlight, and convince him, that he too may become a worker, not
only for himself, but for humanity. This is our
duty. Here our pathway lies; and just so far as
we are prepared to enter into this mission, can we
be suitable agents to labor in the Rosine. There
is no Association that awakens deeper interest;
there is none that calls for more sympathy, patience,
mercy, love, industry, and energy. The two last




REPORT, 1853.              237
qualities are mentioned, because we have had to
keep them constantly in remembrance, from our
necessities, our family claiming support, without
having a sufficient fund to meet expenses. Our
house had also to be paid for at a certain period,
or we should lose our claim to its possession. To
effect these purposes, and perform the other necessary duties, some of us have felt, that there was
little time to lay off the harness; but we have never
faltered, or turned aside from the opened duty, and
still full of faith in our mission being blessed, not
only to the recipients of our care, but to ourselves,
we pursue our vocation, as time reveals it to us.
Difficulties and discouragements have often surrounded us, and some have given way to these, and
left our Board; but Providence has opened other
hearts to become laborers with us, and we are
strengthened and encouraged by the knowledge,
that many of those who were formerly doubtful of
our success, are now prepared to say " God speed
the good work," and have become our annual contributors.
In our Report of last October, we mentioned,
that we had partly paid for the Rosine House, but
that twenty-eight hundred dollars still remained
due on it, also, that our Rosine family had been so
large, that our chambers were crowded to excess,
and that many applicants had been refused admission. This has continued to be the case, and we
must appeal to those who have the means to help
us, so that we may be able to purchase the lot next
to the one we now occupy, and put up a building
that may enable us, not only to receive those who
apply, but introduce increased facilities for the
profitable employment of our inmates, that they




238           REPORT, 1853.
may contribute more effectually towards the support
of the Institution, than they can at present, with
our limited room, and means. We have now but
two rooms (and they thrown into one by a folding
door), that can be appropriated for work, meetings,
school, and hours of recreation, and our family for
the last eighteen months has usually numbered
over 40, sometimes 48. In the bed-rooms eight or
ten women frequently sleep, when there are actually
comfortable accommodations for only 5 or 6. It
must be remembered, that some of these women
never go out into the street; they are therefore constantly subjected, both day and night, to the depressing effects and disadvantages of an atmosphere,
vitiated by the breaths of so many persons. Those
of our friends who have attended our Sabbath
meetings must be aware of this fact, and many of
them have spoken of it as an evil that ought to be
remedied. But we must either close our doors, and
refuse to admit more than we can comfortably accommodate, or be subjected to our present inconveniences, without we can awaken that interest in
our friends, that will provide the means to give a
healthful, proper home to those who come to us,
claiming from us all the charities and comforts of
life, all in fact that is worth living for. It has
often been the subject of our admiration, to see the
kindness of our inmates towards one another in this
crowded condition, and how willingly they make
sacrifices for each other, and on entering our workroom, where quilting, tailoring, dress, and shirtmaking, with all the branches of plain sewing are
in progress, more than admiration has been excited,
at the judicious management of our seamstress, who
superintends all, and preserves through all the




REPORT, 1853.              239
utmost decorum, propriety, and industry. It gives
us great pleasure to be able to recommend the work
done in the Institution, for customers, and invite
our friends to give our inmates the opportunity of
working for them. Some of those who have been
under our care a considerable time, and whose propriety of conduct sanctions it, go occasionally as
seamstresses into families, by the week, and appear
to give entire satisfaction. The best evidence of
this, that we can give, is, that in the past year,
three ladies have become Managers in the Institution, in consequence of the pleasure and interest
awakened by having sewing done for them by our
inmates.
It is truly an affecting and interesting sight, to
visit our work-room, and reflect on the change
wrought on many of the individuals there; and yet
it is only those who are familiar with their separate
histories, that can fully feel or appreciate the
change. It is a trite remark that reality is sometimes stranger than fiction. Of the truth of this,
some of us, who most frequently examine them, and
note their histories, are constantly reminded. Our
Reports must necessarily be brief, therefore, when
we refer to incidents connected with our inmates,
we can only give a few outline facts, which need
the filling up to give our friends an idea of the
interest the whole story would awaken. In very
many cases, early orphanage, and destitution of
proper friends and care-takers, appear to be the
foundation of the evil of the after life. In others,
a worse evil than orphanage is presented, in the
drunkenness and depraved habits of. parents.
Another cause lies in the prejudice in the minds of
parents against indenturing children, and the cus



240           REPORT, 1853.
tom of hiring them from family to family for the
petty wages they obtain, and the children consequently grow up without education, or fixed habits
or principles. Again, the idea, which unfortunately
is too prevalent, that cooking and housework is
degrading, and our girls at the period of life when
they should be employed in domestic avocations,
are found in factories, or struggling for bread as
needle-women.
Of the temptations arising from the half paid
labor of seamstresses, those only can tell who have
them to endure, and though the "Song of the
Shirt," and the occasional paragraphs in a newspaper have given an impulsive momentary thrill to
the reader, nothing has been done to add one cent
to the starvation prices frequently given by employers. Some gentlemen who are really benevolent, but are nevertheless governed by the advantages of trade, without remembering that souls
and bodies, reputation and happiness, are involved
in the prices of women's work, offered, as a kindness, to give the Rosine a lot of shirts to make, at
ten cents apiece. We had not much work at the
time, and hesitated for a moment when the proposition was made, about accepting it, when we
were informed we should be expected to find cotton
and buttons. We declined the offer, and the shirts
were given out to individuals. How many women
were tempted to their ruin, how many eyes were
blinded by their dim lights, at the midnight hour,
over those shirts, we cannot tell, but we do know
that those gentlemen on the Sabbath sit in their
elegantly furnished pews in the temple devoted to
the meek and the lowly one, and respond " Amen,"
and " Glory to God," as the preacher enjoins upon




REPORT, 1853.             241
them, " to do unto others as they would have others
do unto them."
Under these circumstances we conceive it to be
our duty, to impress upon those parents whose children cannot consistently remain with them, the
importance of indenturing them in families, where
they may have a settled home, and judicious care
extended over them, until they are of age, and
endeavor to convince both parents and children,
that domestic employments are not degrading, and
that those ideas are mistaken which leave our families no alternative, but to employ emigrants, or
negroes, and are constantly filling the avenues to
shame and misery with our own American girls.
It is deeply mortifying that it should be so, but it
is a fact, that our dwellings are the abodes of
enterprising foreigners, and the daughters of our
own shores are clustered in those sinks of iniquity,
where undying remorse drives them into habits of
intoxication, and the maddening mental fever urges
to a reckless indifference of character, propriety,
and everything that once formed the happiness and
holiness of life. Let us then feel it as an imperative duty, to impress on those to whom it may be
needful, that honest labor is as respectable in the
family as in the shop, and in the end far more
profitable in a pecuniary way, as the changeful seat
sons of trade produce such fluctuations in the employment of shop hands, that the busy periods, with
even the best remuneration, fall short of supplying
the demands that must arise, and be met, when the
work is deficient. Oh the pang that falls upon the
heart of the young girl who has struggled to learn
a trade, which she has hardly accomplished when
the sound strikes her reluctant ear, that the season
21




242            REPORT, 1853.
is over, and there is no work, and the board, and
the clothing bills rise before her, and the half
shodden feet almost refuse to bear her away. Could
the employer look into the mental recesses where
thought is buried, what a world of misery would he
see, as one after another passes from his counter,
and are lost to his sight. But if he does not read
these thoughts, that well up till they find vent in
tears, the libertine has marked them, and he knows
the hour is coming, when necessity will tempt his
victim, and she will become his prey. Thus it is,
one by one, the houses of iniquity are peopled, and
in an incredibly brief period, those who were among
the fairest and loveliest of the land, are numbered
among the outcasts, despised, and nameless. The
hand of time passes heavily over these. Disease,
and the gnawing worm in the heart, bear them on
rapidly. The prison receives them in its cells, and
amid the cold charities of the almshouse, they pass
into the presence of the Almighty, perhaps without
one glimmering hope, or daring to offer one petition
for pardon. Ought we then with feelings of unwise
delicacy to shrink from extending the warning
voice, while year after year, as though borne on a
resistless tide, victim after victim is swept away,
and no hand is stretched forth to shield or save?
The pulpit and the parental tones are equally silent.
We know the vortex that ingulfs innocence, ignorance, and misfortune is all around us. Our city,
with its 800 houses of prostitution, is becoming
another Sodom, and who is laboring to stay the
flood?
With this knowledge, and these convictions resting upon us, seeing " great is the field, and few the
laborers," and how difficult it is in many cases to




REPORT, 1853.              243
sustain these unfortunates in the path of right, even
after they have resolved to aim at the better life,
yet we are encouraged to persevere amid our discouragements, by the consciousness that our house
and our efforts have rescued many who in all probability would have been utterly lost, and have been
the means of restoring them to society, to usefulness,
and to their own self-esteem.
In our reports we can only allude to a few cases
as illustrations of the nature of our work. Some
of these bring proof of how low humanity may sink,
and yet be elevated. They show that even when
it appeared as if they were deserted by both God
and man, yet the Almighty eye followed them into
the haunts of depravity, and inspired some of his
more favored children to seek them out, to lead
them as into a father's house, and give them the
opportunity to endeavor to redeem the past, even
if it be at the eleventh hour.
In one of our visits to Baker Street, we went up
some steps outside of one of those dens of misery,
which are hidden up alleys from the public gaze,
and in one of the apartments found three young
women. One, an Irish girl, had taken off her dress
and was washing it in a bucket, which was the only
article of furniture, except about two yards of rag
carpeting, which laid upon the floor. It was a winter's day, but there was no fire, and no appearance
of there having been one. The other women stood
with folded arms, leaning against the wall. They
appeared about five-and-twenty, and both were
good-looking Americans. The face of one was
bruised and purple, and all had evidently been
drunken and degraded. In answer to a series of
questions, we learned they paid 75 cents per




244            REPORT, 1853.
week rent. Their bed and bed clothing, chairs,
tables, and other conveniencies, were all comprised
in the two yards of carpet. Upon opening a closet
door, to look for cooking utensils, we found only a
bottle and a candlestick. The bucket had been
borrowed of a neighbor, and these were the comforts,
and this was the place these women called home.
Upon investigating their stories, the Irish girl said
she came from New York, and was going back.
The one with a bruised face had a mother, a respectable woman, who she thought would receive
her if we would plead for her. A gang of rowdies
had burst in upon them the night before, and in the
attempt to defend herself from their brutality, she
had received the bruises. We had heard of such
instances before, therefore we entirely believed the
story. The third, who we will call Mary, was the
daughter of parents whose names were formerly
familiar to us, though personally unknown. They
had lived comfortably, were members of a religious
society, and Mary had been brought up with all the
privileges and enjoyments of respectable life. When
about 16 she contracted an attachment to a.young
man, which not meeting the approbation of her
parents, in the folly and inexperience of youth, she
was persuaded to leave her home, and marry him.
But the dream of love was a shbrt one. Her husband was tempted to commit a larceny on his employer, and became a convict. Again she entered
her father's door, but the light step and joyous eye
were gone. She had brought sorrow and disgrace
to the hearthstone, and bitter words were her greetings. Years passed. Her husband left the city
when released from prison, and she has never
spoken to him since. Her parents died, and there




REPORT, 1853.              245
was little left for her. Then commenced the struggle
for bread. It would be a long story, and a sad one
to mark her progress, with all youth's promises
blighted thus, and shame upon her-'brow, till we
found her in her wretched home in Baker Street.
When we spoke of the Rosine, and told her there
was yet a possibility of gaining a position where
virtue, respectability, and happiness might be her
portion, she pointed to her bare feet, and said, I
cannot go! But Mary did come, and a few days
at the Rosine presented an altered woman. Her
conduct while there met with entire approbation,
until she left for a place of service in a respectable
family. In our report of last April, we referred
to the case of a woman who had been stripped in
one of those wretched places, in Baker or Bedford
Streets, and under the cover of the night came to
the Rosine, with only one garment on her person.
She was the picture of misery and depravity, an
object of loathing to the beholder. But a few
months wrought a change in her, and she was transferred into a respectable family in New Jersey,
where she remained a year, gaining the respect and
affection of those around her. At the close of that
period she was married to a worthy young man, who
had lived as foreman three years in the same family?
At the period of our last intelligence from them,
they were preparing to remove to the West. Who
of us can tell, what the future destiny of this couple
may be. The western world opens a home, independence, wealth and honor to the adventurer that
can grasp them, and the integrity and industry that
recommended these individuals to each other, may
be the means of placing them in an elevated position, when they may be numbered among the princes
21*




246           REPORT, 1853.
of the land. But had there been no Rosine, no open
door to receive this friendless outcast in the hour of
her extremity, and shield her from the bitter consequences of. her destitution and depravity, the
prison would doubtless have welcomed her within its
dreary cells, from whence she would probably have
issued more hardened and degraded, and the seal of
infamy perpetuated on her brow. These are extreme
cases, but they are not the only ones of the same
character that have been recorded among our memorials. Vainly indeed to such as these comes the
voice of the preacher. The hearts and purses of
the pious have bade their missionaries seek the
habitations of the poor, to tell them of the riches of
the kingdom to come, but to these unclothed and
hungry ones, steeped in habits of inebriation and
vice, what can it avail to speak of the bread of life.
The only doctrine they are prepared for in this
condition, is that breathed forth by human sympathy, which grasps the soiled and trembling hand
of the sunken one, draws her from the vile associations that cluster around her, places her in a decent
home and cleanly garments, convinces her she can
earn the bread of honest industry, and, that though
the cloud has rested upon her, producing almost
Egyptian darkness; yet, there are hearts that acknowledge her womanhood, and believe in her capacity
to conquer her dissolute tendencies, and achieve a
victory over herself, and what appeared to be her
destiny. Burns, in his undying verses, evinced his
knowledge of the philosophy of humanity, when he
wrote "A man's a man for a' that," and this inner
manhood must be appreciated, while attention is
bestowed upon the physical comforts. Then, and
not till then, can we hope to find an understanding




REPORT, 1853.              247
of " the bread that comes down from heaven." An
acknowledgment of the mercies and blessings received, must be awakened before the tears of penitence can be shed, and in the gates of praise and
deliverance alone, can the spirit be clothed in the
garment of humility. We would not underrate the
Gospel Missionary, but we have seen that the only
effective gospel is that which feeds, clothes, and
provides remunerative employment with one hand,
while with the other it points to the source from
which patient endurance of affliction can be gained,
and whence comfort and consolation can be received.
But amid the variety of cases that appeal to our
sympathies and protection, many are yet in the
spring of life. We have one in the Institution of
only 14 summers, another of 15, and many have
come to us of 16, 17, and 18 years. One of these,
a girl of 16, who lost her father in early childhood,
and whose mother is a confirmed inebriate, was
placed in a family, from which she was unsuspectingly enticed into a house of bad character, and
there detained. Providence raised friends to draw
her from there, and place her in the Rosine. When
she came to us, about one year since, she could only
read the first lessons in the spelling-book understandingly. Of writing, of course, she knew little.
She continued under our care six months, during
which time, she availed herself of every opportunity
of improvement, and, at the end of that period became an inmate of the family of one of our friends,
and through the bounty of those who first snatched
her from ruin, she is now receiving all the advantages of moral, religious, and educational instruction. The following commencement of a letter received from her by one of our Board, within a few
days, speaks for her more than our words can tell.




248           REPORT, 1853.
" DEAR FRIEND-I received your letter on Monday, and I wish I could express to you my pleasure
on receiving so kind and affectionate a letter. So
far from considering myself neglected by your silence, I feel it a great privilege to be permitted to
write to you, and know that I ought not to expect
a regular answer to every letter, even while I was
longing, day after day, to receive this gratifying
token of your remembrance, and unless you had
witnessed it, I fear you would hardly believe my
extravagant delight on reading the dear little folded
paper so expressive of your kind recollections. I
positively danced for joy, bestowed a thousand caresses upon everybody I loved; dreamed of you all
night, and arose next morning with a heart full to
answer your letter, but was prevented by having a
lesson more than I anticipated, and have not been
able until now, to fulfil this most pleasing duty."
This is the natural outburst of feeling, from one
who knows her new friends are the only ones to
whom she can look for that affection and sympathy
that every heart craves. A few of the words were
not spelled correctly, but the whole letter is a creditable specimen of improvement. It is the intention of those friends to give her an education that
may qualify her to support herself in any occupation that may open for her, and we are empowered
to act in all things as if she were our own child.
One, of whom we have spoken, in a past report,
as having drank of misery's most bitter cup from
her 14th year, and who came to us soon after the
Rosine was opened, has now $106, in the saving
fund, earned honestly, since she left the Institution, besides clothing herself in a very respectable manner. She is now residing in a wealthy




REPORT, 1853.              249
family in the city, and fulfilling the duties of active,
useful life.
A very interesting girl of 16, came to us four
years since, and after remaining several weeks became dissatisfied, and left the Rosine. Time passed.
Through the intervening period, she has been living
with a merchant in New York, as his mistress, enjoying all the pleasures his affection and money
could bestow. But the canker was under all. The
elegant robe could not hide it from herself. At
length conscience became omnipotent, and in a letter breathing the spirit of the prodigal, though not
outwardly in his circumstances, she asked to be
permitted to return. " I have never been happy,
(said she,) for I could never forget." She left him,
after reflecting long upon the subject, and sacraficed her affection to her sense of duty. About six
months have elapsed since her return, and she is
still with us.
Very many are the sad reflections awakened, as
we learn from day to day the unfoldings of the histories of our inmates, and find how few have been
their opportunities of mental or moral improvement.
Of the 271 women who have been inmates of the Rosine, not one has received a good education. Only
three knew the multiplication table perfectly, upon
admission, and these had made little progress in
arithmetic. 93 could not read understandingly.
148 could not write. Only 2 had ever been in the
public schools. 117 had been more or less intemperate. Many were orphans at a very early age,
and cast upon the charities of persons, whose minds,
or situations, were not favorable to the production
of educated, virtuous womanhood, and even with the
majority of those who had known maternal care, the




250            REPORT, 1853.
circumstances and influences around them had been
generally such as would be calculated (under temptation) to make them what they have been. In two
instances, two sisters have been in the Rosine at the
same time. We have also had a mother and daughter, and both came to us from the prison.
While these sorrowful revelations come to us from
year to year, we are necessarily forced to inquire,
what are the causes of this great amount of vice and
misery? The reply that came to us six years since,
has been echoed and re-echoed from year to year,
and the words, intemperance, illy-paid labor, ignorance of moral or physical principles, and the absence of physical cleanliness and comforts, come
with unvarying tones, and tell us, here is the groundwork of the evils of licentiousness. But the grand
demon that desolates home, character, and happiness-that promotes idleness, ignorance, vice, and
wretchedness, is intemperance.  Through this, individual morality is lowered, the weak become vicious,
the passions excited, and the evils engendered by this
dreadful indulgence, taint the blood of generation
after generation, and a race of weak and vitiated beings are filling our prisons, almshouses, and asylums.
Are we willing these things should continue to exist,
and increase in the same fearful ratio that the records of crime and poverty report in the past? As
women, we stand under the law, but are not the
framers of the law. Our property is taxed to support these institutions, but we have no voice in the
appropriation of the funds.'We see and feel the
evils arising from injudicious legislation-we see
the drunkard, and the son of the drunkard, in their
debasement, and ignorance, giving their votes, to
elevate the men who uphold the laws that sanction




REPORT, 1853.              251
and license the source of so many evils, and we feel
our voices are powerless, at the polls, and in the legislative halls. It is true they are so! The voices of
the three millions of mothers in the United States are
not recognized, in our judicial tribunals, except in
cases of offences, but if our influence is not felt, and
shown there, and throughout all the transactions of
life, we have been unfaithful mothers, wives, and sisters. The mind of the child is developed under our
care.  The principles implanted in the nursery display their fruit in manhood. Has not the time then
come for us to feel the responsibility of our position,
and examine whether we have been faithful stewards? Have we sown the seeds of which we now
wish to gather the harvest?  To this point of selfexamination we must come, and while we lament
that there is no law to prevent these poor inebriates
from sinking themselves and families in ruin; let us
conscientiously ask ourselves, have we done all that
we could? Are our own skirts clear? While we ask
the Maine Law for the poor, how often in the private room at our social parties, is the wine and
brandy circulated to sap the morals and pervert the
principles of the young men, to prepare them to
become inebriates, and excite the lawless passions,
that induce them to people, and frequent our houses
of infamy. These are subjects that demand a grave
and sincere inquiry, and we ought to meet it honestly, and while we are laboring for the unfortunate women whom we hope to elevate, let us not
confine our thoughts and efforts to this point, but
feel that our duties lie, not only as remedial agents,
but with double force in the preventive field. It is
impossible to prescribe to any one what their duties
may be, or in what part of the vineyard they may be




252            REPORT, 1853.
called to labor, but as we endeavor to follow those
intimations that are the pointers to the path of
right, we shall all find there is work for us, and as
we are faithful, more will be intrusted to our hands.
We would fain believe the sin of intemperance a masculine vice alone, but fearful facts prove the contrary.
From a table of statistics presented to.us a few days
since, we find that persons were employed to note
the number entering certain dram shops in London,
in one evening.
They stand thus:
MALES.      FEMALES.     YOUTHS.
173          365          38
109          247          41
96          105          17
60          103          17
116          149          14
75          111          13
629         1080         140
We rejoice that this record was not taken in Philadelphia, and would fain disbelieve the possibility of
so many of these persons being women, but some of
us who visit certain neighborhoods in our city, have
to testify that a large proportion of our degraded
population are women. We have visited, on different occasions, about 70 women in one day, in the
Moyamensing Prison, and found, in almost every
instance, liquor was the cause of their being there,
either directly, or indirectly.
In two of our reports, we have spoken of the necessity of a House of Employment and Reformation, for drunkards, and disorderly persons. We
are pleased to find the suggestion meets the approval of other minds, and hope the coming winter, a
law may be passed, authorizing such an institution.
In the month of January, the Rosine HIouse was




REPORT, 1853.              253
visited by the Grand Jury, and in their presentment,
they say, " At the Rosine Association, we were gratified to learn that so much good had been accomplished by an institution so little known. The
benevolence and untiring devotion of the ladies,
connected with it, in reclaiming a class of unfortunate females, who, before the establishment of this
asylum, were, to a certain extent, friendless, deserves the highest praise. There are a number of
inmates, actively employed in appropriate branches
of female industry, all being in good health, and
well provided for, and apparently desirous of returning, to the paths of virtue. This benevolence furnishes a Home, and not a place of confinement, to
those who have been misled, and supported as it is,
by private contributions only, it cannot be too
highly recommended to the attention and liberality
of Philadelphians. The amount of good that is
annually accomplished in a quiet way, deserves,
and should receive the support of our citizens."
Their visit and notice was gratifying to us, as a
proof, that we have been able to place the Rosine
upon a footing to be recognized among the most
important reformatory institutions of our city.
In addition to the care-takers, and instructors in
the Rosine, a school teacher is still employed, and
the progress of many of the girls is very'satisfactory. A.friend of the Institution has also attended
gratuitously, one evening in the week, to give the
inmates instruction in singing. Being confined so
constantly in the house (and some of them never
out), with little to vary the routine of their daily
employments, their minds crave something to interest and entertain them, and the privilege of these
musical instructions is much prized by many of
22




254           REPORT, 1853.
them. Each hour of the day and evening has its
allotted occupation, except the noon hour, for recreation, which they are permitted to spend as they
please, provided the rules are not infringed.
Christmas, in the Rosine, was a happy day.
Some kind friends provided the means for a repast
befitting the season, and the generosity that prepared the feast sank into the hearts of the inmates,
-as a token that they were recognized in the social
circle, and considered worthy to be participants in
that general feeling of rejoicing, that animates the
Christian, and has prompted him on the return of
each annual festival to realize the fact, that, " Unto
us a child is born, a Son is given."
Amid the reflections that most constantly arise
with our work of reform, is that of the injustice of
society, in stamping infamy upon the erring women,
while the companion of her crime (usually her seducer), suffers little, perhaps not at all, from what
the world may pass over, as "a little indiscretion."
We would ask in the name of justice and humanity,
should this be so? Why is it so? Is it because
our minds are so perverted, that we can only view
virtue and vice as a matter of sex? Who of us are
prepared to receive the fallen woman as our friend,
in the social circle, and who of us turn from the
equally criminal man, and deny him the seat by our
firesides, and our daughters. We may speak of the
injustice of society, but each of us are parts of that
social compact, and it rests with each individual to
confirm, or deny, our opinion of its rightfulness, by
our own conduct, and the course we pursue.
Our friends are generally aware that the Temporary Home, an institution founded by some of the
managers of the Rosine Association, to give a tem



REPORT, 1853.               255
porary shelter to respectable but friendless females,
and to procure homes and employment for them,
has been in operation about three years. During
this period, 768 women and children have been
received into the house, until situations were obtained for them, and an Intelligence Office was
opened, which has introduced facilities for procuring places, not only for the friendless, but for
others; and 2122 women and children have already
received the benefits of this association.
271 women have been inmates of the Rosine
House, and the Intelligence Office there has also
presented a large field for usefulness.
1687 women have gone to respectable homes
through its agency, this making from the two offices
3809 women and children.    We may give statistics of the numbers thus introduced into employment, and the means of gaining an honest livelihood,
but no one can ever tell how many may have been
saved from ruin through the agency of these two
associations. Had we accomplished no other good
than merely to be means of furnishing 3809
women with homes, and the means of an honest
living, we had not toiled in vain.
Our work-room presents a scene of busy industry.
During the past year, from April 1st, 1852, to
April 1st, 1853,
The garments made for the use of the Rosine
family number -                   460
Those made for customers, including 132
shirts, 45 coats, 99 vests, 24 pairs pantaloons, 56 dresses, 57 quilts, and sundry
other articles, amount to -      1330
Total,  -   -   - 1790




256            REPORT, 1853.
In our Report of last October, we made a statement relative to the purchase of the Rosine Iouse,
but, as many of our friends did not receive that
Report, it is important to insert it in this.
HOUSE ACCOUNT.
Paid for Rosine House, by donations received ~at various dates, for that purpose, -$2,200 00
By mortgage on the house held by the
Association,  -              - 1,300 00
By cash borrowed from a friend, -  - 1,500 00
$5,000 00
The ground rent remaining on the property of,        -              1,333 33
Makes the full amount, -  - - $6,333 33
Debt remaining on Rosine House, by
cash borrowed, -  -  -   -   - 1,500 00
By ground rent, -  -   -   -   - 1,300 00
$2,800 00
This statement shows that we still owe $2,800
on our house, which at present we see no means of
paying. Our collections each year are absorbed
by the expenses of our large family, which usually
number over 40, and which might be very much increased could we receive all the applicants, but, in
consequence of our crowded condition, we have had
to refuse many who came to us, and who plead
earnestly to be admitted, promising tolie contentedly upon the floor if we would receive them. We
started the Rosine in the belief that Providence
would raise friends to help us. From year to year
we have worked on, seeing that belief realized, and
now, when the poor friendless wanderer comes to




REPORT, 1853.                 257
us, asking a home and friends, and we cannot receive her, we remember our debt, but, at the same
time, we look wistfully at the lot beside us, and
many a hope presents, that the day may come that
we may be able to purchase it, and thus increase
our accommodations. Some of us have been beggars from the foundation of the Society, and we
would now gladly retire from the business could our
family be maintained without it, but, while we are
in our present circumstances, we must ask our
friends to bear with us, and remember the promise
made years ago, " The poor, ye shall have always."
Treasurer's Accountfrom April 1st, 1852, to April 1st, 1853.
The receipts from the work-room have
been, -$623 64
Interest on donations at various dates
towards the payment for the Rosine
House,                        -   100 60
Donations and subscriptions, -     2,279 77
$3,004 01
Expensesfrom April 1st, 1852, to April 1st, 1853.
Appropriated to the payment of the
house,   -        --              300 00
Family expenses, including rent, salaries,
interest on ground-rent, fuel, clothing,
marketing, &c., - -              2,617 07
Cash on hand, -  -   -    86 94
$3,004 01
22*




258         THE FIVE    POINTS.
AUDITOR'S CERTIFICATE.
Having been appointed a Committee by the
Board of Managers of the Rosine Association, to
examine the accounts of the Treasurer, Mira Townsend, we have attended to the duty, and find them
entirely correct.
M. M. WILSON,
MARY M. HASTINGS.
THE FIVE POINTS.
It seems hardly worth while when we have so
much vice and misery in Philadelphia, to go to
New York to seek it; and then Mr. Pease and the
Ladies Mission, and the Hot Corn stories have all
made such graphic delineations, that there seems
nothing left to tell, but we have been several times
to the Five Points, and like all orators who are
going to tell a long story, " We want to say one
word."
Our first visit there, was when Mr. Pease had
just commenced his labors in that neighborhood,
and we solicited his guidance through the Old
Brewery. We had heard dismal tales of the horrors enacted there, and that it was requisite to get
a policeman as a guard, during the peregrinations
of a stranger. But we had visited every house in
Baker Street, and Bedford Street, and Small




THE FIVE POINTS.             259
Street, and Mary Street, and Elizabeth Street, and
Portland Lane, and many another such place, just
two simple women together, and we had always
been protected, and had faith to believe we always
would be, therefore when we went to the Old
Brewery, we forgot to employ a guard, and felt
fully satisfied to brave the terrors whatever they
might be, under the guidance of a pale, and rather
frail-looking clergyman. The Old Brewery then
was in the zenith of its glory, as a nest of vagabonds, and sure enough we found them there in
every variety. In each room we stopped and conversed with the inmates. At some doors Mr. Pease
seemed to feel as if he did not like to enter, or,
perhaps thought we would not have the courage,
but he was not aware that we had seen misery and
vice in every form in our own city, and were familiar visitors of Duffy's lime-boxes, as they might
then be called, lighted only by a hole a few inches
square, cut in the door, where black and white, old
and young, male and female, congregated night
after night, to sleep on the bare but crowded floors,
amid riot, drunkenness, and debauchery; and we had
seen the poor creatures, when they came to their
senses, emerge from these scenes of indescribable
horror, with scarcely a rag left upon them, as those
more powerful or less inebriated, had dragged the
clothing off them, to pawn for more rum. Mr.
Pease was not aware of all this, but we were, and
when he hesitated at a door, we fearlessly walked
in. But the Old Brewery is not there now! In
its stead is the Ladies' City Mission House, a fine
building with clean, decent rooms, rented to about
20 families, under the watchful care of the ladies,




260         THE FIVE POINTS.
with a fine school-room and church below. Things
are changed there from the time of our first visit,
and they are somewhat changed in our Five Points
too, but we need a world of remedies yet before
the work is thoroughly accomplished.
Some four or five years after this excursion with
Mr. Pease, we escorted some of our Chester County
friends to his Mission House. That is the true
mission that provides labor, and generates a feeling of honest independence in the individual it
seeks to aid, and for this has he been laboring.
The site of his House of Industry was formerly
occupied by notedly immoral characters; and Mr.
Pease, like ourselves, believes in the efficacy of
carrying the war into the enemy's quarters, and
bearding the lion in his den, so by some means he
gained possession of some four or five of these
houses, and employs some of the former occupants
as braid-sewers, tailoresses, etc. We found on this
occasion, about fifty women employed on straw hats.
Thirty were tailoring, and some were at plain work.
Ninety children were in the school, all of whom
can have soup for their dinner, if they choose to
take it. Our friends desired to witness some of
the scenes they had heard described, and we passed
through a couple of the houses in Cow Bay, but
the dirt and the smell, and the miserable objects
we saw, was too much for the uninitiated, and they
had to retreat from the second house violently sick,
and unable to explore any farther. But L. B. and
ourselves proceeded. We went up an alley to a
house standing back of the front ones, and entered
a door which, when closed, left us in perfect darkness. We groped our way up a pair of stairs, by




THE FIVE POINTS.            261
feeling only, and found a door at which we entered.
A hole in the wall about 12 by 18 inches, which
had probably been meant for a window, but which
contained no glass, was the only means of light or
ventilation in this room. Here, sitting on the floor,
were two men and two women, and upon a heap in
the corner, which upon closer inspection appeared
to be rags gathered from the street, laid a woman
who told us she had the dropsy, and was suffering
greatly. A charcoal furnace in full blast stood in
the centre of the room, and this, with a stool or
two, formed the only articles of furniture. The
fumes of the charcoal, and rum, and tobacco were
so blended and intolerable, that it seemed wonderful
they could exist in such an atmosphere: yet here
these people lived, and here this sick woman had to
endure her misery day after day.
The front room was about as cheerless, but had
a larger window, and on what appeared to be a bag
of rags laid a man, who said he was sick, and, unwashed and unshaven, looked a pitiable object.
Several men and women were sitting or standing
idly about the room, and they were all the most perfect images of drunkenness, filth, and debauchery.
Proceeding thus from room to room, we found
little variety in the apartments, except that in
some the window seemed larger than in others,
though it was so thickened by dirt, and stuffed by
rags that it made little perceptible difference, and
in some there was an appearance of a few articles
of furniture, at least, we supposed if the crust of
dirt could be removed, there might be an imitation
of furniture beneath. On every floor were several
rooms, but we could not guess at the number, only




262         THE FIVE POINTS.
as we groped in the dark entry, and found our
hands resting on the handles of the doors. There
was not a window to give a ray of light from the
top to the bottom of the stairs.
When we arrived at the upper apartments we
knocked at one door which was opened by a yellow
girl, apparently about seventeen years old. She
was shabbily dressed, but looked more decent than
any one we had seen in the building. We could
only compare this room to a play house where a
dozen children had been scattering their toys in
wild confusion, so completely was the whole floor
covered with litter. In the favorite spot, the centre
of the room, was the charcoal furnace. Beside it
stood an old-fashioned Dutch oven, containing something that looked like tar. There were no other
articles of furniture in the room, and the compound
on the floor was of rags, sticks, old iron,,etc., but
we had neither light, nor time to investigate. Over
the furnace hovered a woman with her head covered
with an apron, almost saturated with blood, which
trickled down upon her shoulders. On the floor,
stretched at full length on some rags, similar to
those already described, laid a stout, large man.
After the opening salutation, we inquired what was
the matter. " He is blind, and he struck her with
that board," whispered the girl, evidently afraid
to speak aloud. The board looked like a piece of
flooring, about two feet long, with a sharp point at
one end. We took no notice of the girl's information, and asked again, what was the matter? The
woman looked up sadly, but did not speak. The
man then gruffly replied, "I have been beating
her!" and he added, "she gets drunk, and lets her




THE FIVE POINTS.             263
daughter run in the street, and she's sassy." " But
is she not thy wife?" "Yes, but she's so sassy I have
to do it!" " What good will it do thee to strike and
abuse her in this manner?" " Why she's sassy, and I
can't help it!" We then asked what business he followed? "None!" said he, " but I go round among
the Friends, and collect some money to pay the
rent, and get along." "And what does thy wife do?"
"Nothing! she is lame!" "Is this the girl that runs
in the street?" "No! she is a younger one, 15 years
old." The young woman said she sometimes went
out to work, but was out of employment at present.
We advised her to go to work in that room, and
make it look more decent and comfortable, and
then try to get a steady place, and keep it, for
surely no one would hire her from a room looking
like that. We told her she ought to be worth
$1 25 per week. She could clothe herself well
on 75 cents, and then she could spare 50 cents a
week to help make her parents more comfortable.
We then turned to the man, and asked if he
ever thought of trying to get to heaven? "Yes,
sometimes! I want to go there!" "But does thee
think, abusing thy wife in that manner will take
thee there? She is almost covered with blood!"
"lHumph," said he, shaking his head, "she's so
sassy! But I guess I can get in at the gate." " Indeed, we replied, " we fear it will take a larger key
than Saint Peter ever had, to get thee in at that
gate, if thee ever strikes her again. Besides, thy
wife might strike back."  "She darsent do that!"
and his voice assumed a swaggering tone. " Ah, but
thee cannot see, and she might trip thee down!"
We must confess we felt rather uncomfortable as




264         THE FIVE POINTS.
we turned to the woman's upraised face, and saw a
nod, and an expression of, " I'll do it!" Our conscience smote us, as we thought, perhaps she will
take the hint, and do it.
We then brought the woman to the hole that admitted the few rays of light, to examine the wound,
and found a cut two inches long. We had supposed before this, that she was a negro, but now
found she had long hair, which was separated with
difficulty, and which it required some courage and
humanity to touch. We requested the daughter to
wash the mother, and the wound, and come over to
the mission house to get a plaster. But what was
to be done with the profusion of matted hair? They
had no wash bowl, pan, pitcher, or towel, and no
scissors to cut off the gory locks. There was a
pause to think what could be done. A knife would
not answer-ours was very dull. " Can you not borrow a pair of scissors?" "I don't know!" But no effort was made. We had now arrived at the end of the
surgical ministration, and the Dutch oven again
arrested our attention. "What is that?" said we; is
it victuals?" "Wensun," said the woman. " What?"
" Wensun," echoed the man. Still we were stupid,
till our companion caught the idea, and pronounced
the word, "Venison."  We always liked venison,
but somehow we were not tempted then.
All this time our curiosity was awakened to know
whether this man, blind and impotent as he was,
thus lording his brutal sovereignty even in darkness, filth, and wretchedness, was white or colored.
At last we asked, as the dim light did not reveal
it. He gave a bitter sneering laugh, as he answered, "Can't you see?-I'm Injun 1"  We did




THE FIVE POINTS.             26;not see. After recommending cleanliness and harmony to all, and industry to the daughter, we
turned to retrace our steps down the dark stairway, wondering if spiders, roaches, and other
vermin were swarming round us.
We entered a room below, where we found a man
and woman, and told them the woman above had
been hurt, and asked the loan of a pair of scissors.
"No, I will not lend them," said the woman.
" Not lend a pair of scissors to assist in dressing a
wound?"   "No, we will not," rejoined the man.
We felt disposed to give them a homily on Christian
charity, but thought words would probably be
wasted, as both had been drinking, and were too
stupid to be benefited. "They are our enemies,"
said the man, "we will do nothing for them." Poor
things, what had they to quarrel about? They had
neither money, furniture, nor reputation. We felt
they had cause to quarrel with society, which had
allowed them to grow up in vice, ignorance, and
idleness, and to live in filth and wretchedness in
the very heart of the greatest and richest city in
America; and with the landlord of that house, who,
for the sake of a few more dollars, kept the poor,
degraded wretches, who were forced by their vices
and misery to be his tenants, to live in darkness,
and without means of ventilation.
The philosopher in his tub felt the importance of
sunshine, and we certainly felt it too, as we emerged
from that building, from which both outward and
inward light seemed banished. But if no sunshine
takes its beams of glory, and beauty, and happiness
into those dreary and prison-like apartments, and
there is no development of the fruits of the higher
light in the lives of the individuals clustered there,
28




266         THE FIVE POINTS.
yet we are confident, that beneath the crust of dirt,
and the ignorance and vices that envelope the outer
man, there is hidden a capacity to understand and
enjoy the pure and the beautiful, were they placed
in circumstances that would develope and cultivate
the sacred germ that is placed in every human
being. We have just such people in Baker, Bedford, and Small Streets, but give us a purse to
locate them elsewhere, and a chance to cast a few
sunbeams upon them, and we will find a heart and
kind feelings in the very worst of them. Circumstances made them what they are-circumstances
made us what we are. Our heavenly Father alone
knows why he gave us such different surroundings.
Of how little have we to boast! Hlad we been
changed in our cradles, they would probably be
what we are, and we what they are, and have been.
We visited several other houses. In one we were
in a room from which twelve dead bodies were
carried in three weeks. Men, women, and children
were crowded in, the most of them, in such numbers, that it seemed wonderful the powers of locomotion could be maintained without continued
jostling. Among the inmates were several fine,
bouncing girls, who told us they were straw-workers, and could earn from $1 75 to $3 00 per week,
and yet the force of habit is so strong, and there
was so little stimulant to exertion, that they seemed
hardly to comprehend that they could get other
homes, and surround themselves by the comforts
produced by cleanliness and industry.
We left the Points with a renewed feeling of
gratitude, that our lot had been cast in more pleasant places.




REPORT, 1853.              267
REPORT OF THE MANAGERS OF THE ROSINE
ASSOCIATION.
October 20th, 1853.
Six years have passed, each marked with the
lines of progress, since the opening of the Rosine
House. The Society came into existence on the
previous April, and the birth of the new enterprise
for the temporal and eternal welfare of those whose
condition had been considered by many as hopeless
and irredeemable, was an era that ought to be recorded in enduring letters, as a period honorable to
the justice and humanity of the women of Philadelphia. We had been accustomed to receive in
our parlors, and treat with all the courtesies of
social life, men of at least suspected profligacy, and
considering that if they stood well in the pecuniary
world, affairs of mere gallantry were not sufficient
to cast a stigma upon them, or banish them from
the society of the most refined and virtuous woman.
Who, in the polished circle, frowned upon the most
delicate lady who ventured the happiness of her life
with a reformed rake, or even with one without professing reformation; and where would we find the
fearless woman, with sufficient moral courage or benevolence that would dare stake her own reputation,
by countenancing or even treating with common
humanity the fallen woman?
It was not that we were deficient in the gentle
impulses of nature, but, that custom sanctioned injustice, and women, with all their high aspirations
after the good and the beautiful, suffered the most
divine and holiest principles to sleep within them,
because society had drawn its arbitrary line, and
they bad not learned to do the right, because it was




268           REPORT, 1853.
the right. But the moral courage that dared in
1847 to found a Society for the reformation, employment, and instruction of women who had led
immoral lives, proved that a better time was coming,
and had come; that with the demand of other rights
we were prepared to claim the right to stand on
virtue's side-to hold up in the broad sunlight our
appeal for suffering woman, and to place upon the
same platform the erring man and woman, each
unsuitable associates while in the wrong, but equally
capable of reform, and re-entering into the duties
and responsibilities of social and religious life.
Many women (whose minds were still in leading
strings) were not prepared for this movement.
They could not see in the beginning, the end-they
knew not that the germ of moral sense awakened
in the formation of the Rosine Association, would
reach with its purifying influence the very circle in
which they moved; that while it opened an avenue
for the reformation of females, it would awaken in
their own minds an appreciation of their duties to
their children and to others, both male and female,
and teach them, that virtue was as important and
estimable in one sex as the other, and the lapse from
it equally to be condemned.
They saw not in the heroism that dared to say,
we will grapple with the lion in his den-we will
enter the sinks of iniquity, and draw from thence
the victim lambs, and shelter and protect them, and
strive to awaken in their souls a desire and capacity
to espouse the right, more than.a futile struggle, a
foolish hardiness, that with other ephemeral efforts
would yield to disappointments and discouragements, and sink as the bubble upon the foamy
waters. But six years have passed away, and




REPORT, 1853.              269
many of those who doubted the utility or success of
our efforts, are now our annual contributors, and
cheer us from year to year, with " God speed you
in the good work."
The Rosine House was opened in October, 1847,
with one inmate. Since that period 306 women
have been members of the family, besides a great
number of respectable but friendless women, to
whom a temporary home has been given until employment could be procured for them. Many who
have never entered our house, have claimed our
sympathy and attention, and have been aided and
encouraged to try the better way, and through our
efforts have risen into positions, towards which they
previously had not dared to look. There are those
who are married now, and we believe, living rightly,
who we found in the path of ruin, who owe their
present happiness and power of usefulness wholly
to the influences extending from this Association,
and who in their secret aspirations bless the Rosine
as the active source of their present happiness, and
their escape from the horrors which no pen can or
dare fully describe.
Many women are so circumstanced that they
cannot become members of our Rosine family, yet
(from our connection with the Society), their cases
are made known to us, and we are enabled to become useful to them; and it is a privilege, to be
permitted even to hand the cup of water to suffering
humanity. Who can measure the influence of a
single word or look, as it sinks into a mind that
feels itself an outcast from the charities of life, or
the hopes that may animate a desponding spirit to
struggle against the depressing tendencies that surround it, when it feels there is even one in this wide
23*




270              REPORT, 1853.
world, who can understand its unhappy condition,
and while they sympathize, can have faith in the
possibility of its redemption! Is it not a privilege
to be thus awakened to the claims of our fellowbeings, and to be endowed with a faith, that
"In all there is an inner depth,
A hidden secret way,
Where, through the dimly lighted soul,
God sends his living ray.
In every human heart there is
A faithful, sounding cord,
That may be struck by touch or look,
Or some kind, gentle word.
And, though despised, and trodden down,
Stained with the shades of sin,
Deciphering not those holv lights
That God hath lit within,
Yet prompted by that touch, or tone,
To cast their chains aside,
Regenerate life is in them stillThey have their angel side!"
Yes! in the six years that we have been laboring
for the unfortunate and degraded, though it has
been our lot to struggle with evil in all its forms,
yet we can truly say, we believe in all there is an
angel side. Intemperance, profanity, and dissipation may smother the Divine principle; or the associations from childhood may have been such, that
it has never been developed; yet,
"' In all there is an inner depth,
A secret, hidden way,
Where, through the dimly lighted soul,
God sends his living ray."
Among many proofs (if proofs were needful) is
one of a woman, who has been noted, for years, for
keeping a house of immoral character, and yet is
known among her neighbors as " the good Samaritan." Her hand is ever open for the deed of
mercy, and the sick and afflicted rise up and bless




REPORT, 1853.              271
her. The collectors for churches receive her donations, though she knows she would be unwelcome,
and the lady-occupant would shrink from her, were
she to enter one of the pews. She has offered to
contribute towards the support of the Rosine, and
when we refused her money, her tears attested her
sincerity, and the painful emotions she experienced
in not being allowed to become a donor.
In some cases we have been permitted to be the
active agents in awakening vitality in this buried
germ, when even the possessor thought they could
exclaim, "there is no good in me!" and to inspire
in hopeless hearts a faith, that this seed, though it
might be small as a mustard-seed, yet, by proper
exertion and cultivation, might become as a tree of
the forest. In some of the cases that have come
under our care, a large degree of patience, forbearance, and hope have been needed, before there was
much outward manifestation of this inner life; and
some of us, whose faith was not an enduring principle, have had our hearts sink within us, and discouragements have bowed us down; but, others
have felt that there are periods, when
" They also serve, who only stand, and wait"and this, in our position, must sometimes occur,
when by patient waiting alone can our work be accomplished. And is not this labor of love a glorious one? To be permitted to extend the hand to
suffering humanity-to be able to inspire the sinking outcast with the belief, that she can not only
be raised from her lowly condition, but become
herself a worker for others. It is truly the ministry of angels; and, as we are prepared to devote
our hearts and energies to the efforts and sacrifices




272           REPORT, 1853.
required, and our daily prayer is for wisdom, the
blessing of Him who rewardeth liberally changes
sacrifice to enjoyment, and the rich treasures of a
peaceful spirit are our recompense, and animate us
to labor from day to day.
The Rosine family, during the last two years,
has been larger, generally, than could be comfortably accommodated.   When we first rented the
house, the calculation was, that we could receive
thirty women; and, from the experience of other
Associations, it was supposed the house would contain all that would apply for reception. But we
have been gratified to find, that, as our ideas and
operations have been understood, many of those
for whom it was intended have appreciated its advantages, and desired to place themselves under its
influences. Within the last two years our family
has usually numbered over forty, sometimes fortyeight, and many have been refused admission,
owing to our crowded condition. One of the disadvantages resulting from this has been, that we
have parted with some of the members of our
family at an earlier period than perhaps was best
for the individual, and thus make way for others
who were pressing for admission. Part of our
family always lie upon the floor, as we have not
room to put up any more bedsteads. In this condition, we cast longing eyes on the lot next to the
one we occupy, hoping that Providence will open
hearts to aid us in a pecuniary way, that we may
be able to purchase it, and enlarge our Institution.
Our contributors are aware that we still owe $2800
on the Rosine House, and the necessary expenses
of our large family can only be balanced by soliciting subscriptions. We have therefore no prospect




REPORT, 1853.              273
of being able to liquidate our debt, or make a new
purchase; yet, the faith and the hope that have
buoyed us up from the formation of the Society
still live with us, and we believe, that as woman
understands her mission, and man appreciates it,
helping hands and hearts and purses will be prepared to aid in the good work, until that period
when virtue and justice shall be so incorporated
into human hearts, that Rosines will be no longer
needed.
Our school has been continued through a considerable part of the year, but is omitted usually
during the very hot weather. Of the 306 women
who have been inmates of the Rosine, 118 could
not read understandingly when admitted; 160
could not write, and only four knew the multiplication table perfectly; 124 were marked intemperate, but many others drank occasionally; 78 were
foreigners, 75 Catholics, 236 either professing Protestantism or no religion.
As in former years, we have found that ignorance, illy-paid labor, and the temptations consequent upon it, with evil examples and associations,
have wrought the work of ruin. Parents and caretakers have not sown the good seed early in life;
and, in the impetuous and rash period of youth,
they have been deficient in the principles of virtue
and morality, and thus fallen victims to the influences and circumstances surrounding them, while
oftentimes their whole natures revolted from the
crimes in which they were indulging, and their
aspirations were daily for a better, truer life.
Those only who have experienced it, or who have
listened to the painful details of their sad stories,
can comprehend the difficulties these unfortunates




274           RREPORT, 1858.
labor under, when they endeavor to ascend the upward path by honest industry. Until the formation
of the Rosine Association, when women awakened in
a degree to the duties of humanity, it was almost impossible for them to obtain situations in respectable
or religious families. Even the high professor, who
claimed to be governed by the principles of;' Him
who ate with sinners and publicans," shrank from
giving shelter or employment to these poor penitents, and except by those whose degraded habits
led them to seek such associations, they have been
avoided as an accursed thing. And even now,
when there is a better understanding of the claims
of our suffering sisters, and some of us are prepared
to give them a helping hand and make sacrifices for
their sakes, it is not always an easy thing to extend
that degree of encouragement and sympathy that
may infuse into their minds a comprehension, that
while we consider their future destiny lies in a
great degree in their own hands, yet, if they will
aim at the platform on which others stand around
them, we believe they can attain it, and will aid
them in their upward progress. As our own minds
become more thoroughly imbued with the consciousness that,
"'Tis worth and virtue make the man,"
then can we labor more effectually, for the faith
that is in our own hearts will be transferred to
theirs, and we can animate them to struggle-to
bear, and endeavor to conquer their own weaknesses, and the discouragements around them, and
convince them a position can be attained of respectability and usefulness. Early orphanage and
the consequent exposure resulting from not being




REPORT, 1853.              275
under suitable parental care, is another predominant cause of the irregularity of their lives, and
their homeless and friendless condition. An idea
of this can be given by referring to the record of
the 16 last admitted. No. 1, father living but intemperate. 2, cannot remember her father-mother also dead. 3, an orphan at 9 years. 4, both
living. 5, mother died when she was 8 years old.
6, mother died when she was 8 years old; she has
never lived with her father. 7, her father died
when she was 2- years old. 8, mother died when
she was 2 years of age. 9, father died when she
was in her 9th year. 10, an exposed orphan at 17.
11, mother died when she was 6. 12, both parents
living. 13, mother died when she was 11. 14,
mother only living. 15, mother lost when she was
3 years, her father when she was 6. 16, father
died when 2, mother, when she was 5 years of age.
We are frequently asked, "Do you succeed in
your reformatory efforts?" Do the women continue
to do well after they leave the Institution? We can
only reply, that when we first. entered into the
work we were not so sanguine as to suppose all
would do well, who might claim the shelter of our
home, for we knew the curse of intemperance was
upon many of the victims of licentiousness, and
while the law sanctioned the sale of the liquid poison, a higher hand than ours, alone could stay the
plague. We opened the Rosine House from a conviction that it was right, believing that Providence
would bless the effort, but that if we did not succeed, still the duty was ours-the results were not
ours. But we believe, in very many cases, our
labor has been blest, as is evident to those who visit
the Institution, as well as in the cases of a large




276           REPORT, 1853.
number who have left, and are scattered in various
families, both in the city and country. Over a
dozen have married reputably since they left our
care. Parents and relatives have rejoiced over the
lost being found and restored to them, and society
is benefited by so many abandoning an evil life,
and becoming respectable and useful laborers and
contributors, instead of being nuisances and burthens to the community. But who can estimate
the advantages and blessings bestowed upon the
individuals themselves!-Those only who can understand the depth of their degradation and hopelessness, and can compare it with the condition to
which they are elevated when they feel they are
living in accordance with the laws of God and man,
and their present and future is gilded by a hopeful,
trustful faith.
Three years since, a woman, who had been a
Rosine, but who had been restored to her family,
and afterwards married, came to request us to visit
a girl of seventeen, who had been ungovernable
under her widowed mother's care; had gone to
live in a house of bad character, and from there
had been cast into prison for the larceny of a
watch. We visited the girl, procured her release
from the prison, and took her to the Rosine. Her
mother bound her to us, as she knew she could not
control her. She remained a year with us, and
learned the tailoring trade. Her mind became
under religious influences while there, and when we
returned her to the maternal roof, at the age of
eighteen, it was with the belief that we resigned a
treasure. That belief has been realized, as the
grateful tears of her parent testify, whenever we
see her. While she was at the Rosine, her mother




REPORT, 1853.             277
married a second time. They were respectable,
but not religious persons; but the good seed that
was sown in the Rosine, in the heart of that young
girl, was not lost upon stony ground, but has
brought forth good fruit. While she sat at work,
at her tailoring, the hymns she had learned came
welling up, from her grateful feelings, in tones of
melody, and sunk into her parents' hearts. Her
prayers for them, and for herself were sanctified,
and she has been the means of leading them both
to the footstool of the Redeemer. Father, mother,
and daughter are now members of a church. Had
it not been for the Rosine, this girl (if living),
would probably have been either a convict in the
prison, or leading a life of sin and depravity.
Many other cases of deep and touching interest
come constantly before us, and excite feelings of
grateful emotion, while others are of a more painful
and thrilling nature.
A few weeks since, we read in the papers, that
a young woman had thrown herself into the Schuylkill, near Fairmount. A day or two afterwards,
they said, the suicide was committed on the day
that was to have been the bridal-day. Few knew
who Mary Burk was, or were sufficiently interested
to unravel the history of that unfortunate girl; and
yet there are those whose names are recorded in
deathless characters, and chronicled through all
time, whose merits or whose integrity would not
compare with those of Mary Burk. Three years
since, Mary came to the Rosine and asked admission. She was a blooming girl, from the shores of
Erin. Her tale was a sad one. She had come a
stranger to our city, and had gone to a boardinghouse to stay till she could obtain employment.
24




278           REPORT, 1853.
She became acquainted with one, who wooed and
betrayed her, and then left her to shame and repentance. In her agony of mind, she walked the
streets, one night, caring not whither she went.
Her appearance attracted the attention of a good
man, and he compassionately accosted her. His
tones of kindness went to her heart, and he learned
her friendlessness and her sorrow. He led her to
a safe Asylum, where she remained until she came
to the Rosine. While there, she became awakened
to religious impressions, and after some months,
left the Institution to go to a place of service, with
the respect and esteem of the family and the managers. Some time during the last summer, she
told our matron, she had become attached to a
young man, and was engaged to be married, and
consulted her about the necessity of revealing to
her lover her past history. The matron advised
her to use perfect candor, and said, the truth was
always the right, and that if he really loved her,
he would respect her the more for her integrity.
Mary resolved to follow her counsel, though it
would be a sore trial: but she told her mentor, a
few weeks since, she had not been able to do it.
The gentleman's conduct had been so marked with
propriety to her, that she could not reveal her disgrace to him, yet she evidently was struggling between her sense of duty, and the delicacy of her
feelings. Strong indeed must have been those convictions of duty, and great her mental struggle,
when the prospect of the enjoyment of a life of
happiness with the one she loved, was sacrificed to
her repugnance to acknowledge her misfortune, and
lessen herself in his good opinion.
On the Sabbath before they were to be married,




REPORT, 1853.             279
her lover placed the wedding ring upon her finger,
and she plaited some of his hair and her own together, while she said, "I do not think we shall
ever be married." But so full was his heart with
the prospect of their happiness, that he dreamed
not of her meaning. The day arrived that was to
seal their destiny. The groom had all the preparations made at the house of a mutual friend, and, at
the appointed hour, went to meet the bride. But
no Mary came? Search was made, but no tidings
could be obtained, until the next day, when the
papers described the body of a young female who had
been seen to throw herself into the Schuylkill, and
who was not rescued until it was too late to restore
life. The ring was on hir finger, and the plaited
hair in her bosom, enclosed in some poetry he had
given her; but the bridegroom was death, and the
wedding-robe was the shrouding waters.
Mary had been at the Rosine that morning.
They had spoken to her of it being the bridal-day.
She replied,  He will seek me, but he will not find
me." They too, thought not of the significance of
her words. She bade them adieu, and proceeded
immediately to the river. The mental conflict
under which she had labored for months, in one
short hour was terminated.
May the profligate man who wrought this ruin be
pardoned; and may the name of Mary Burk strike
as a funeral knell to the heart of every man who
seeks to destroy and darken thus, with crime, the
purity and innocence of one of God's own temples,
and may her name be echoed and re-echoed through
the land, in warning tones, that our daughters may
receive the impress in unfading characters-that
virtue alone can bestow happiness, and that undying




280            REPORT, 1853.
remorse and the consciousness of guilt will remain
through life, if that pure temple be desecrated. It
will be the"One fatal remembrance, one sorrow, that throws
Its dark shade alike over pleasures and woes;
For which life nothing darker or brighter can bring,
For which jqo hath no balm, and affliction no sting."
It is a source of pleasure to us to mark the reformatory efforts around us, to observe the progress
of the temperance cause, and to find that women
are enlisting with steady and unflinching purpose
to labor for the deliverance of the captive from the
greatest slavery upon earth. When we review the
list of those who have been under our care, and
trace their histories, we find, that in almost all the
cases where women have resumed their evil courses,
it has been owing to the temptations presented to
them, in consequence of the sale of liquors everywhere.
When each day brings its hosts of facts, of individuals and families being ruined by the effects of
this liquid poison, and our citizens taxed so heavily
to support these rum-made paupers and criminals,
it is astonishing that our legislators should hesitate
to adopt a scheme that has worked so admirably
wherever it has been efficiently in operation.
The depopulation of the prisons and poorhouses,
must inevitably be the effect of the Maine Law,
and an increased stimulant be given to the education of the poorer classes. From the reports given
by President Bache, M. Cousin, and George Nichols,
of the state of education in Holland, we learn, that
in Haarlem, with a population of 21,000, there was
not a child of sound intellect of ten years of age,
who could not both read and write, and that nothing




REPORT, 1853.              281
could exceed the personal propriety and apparent
comfort of the people of Holland, generally. The
traveller meets with no ragged, dirty, or drunken
persons. In the prisons of Leyden and Rotterdam,
with a population of 2,500,000, there were only 150
juvenile offenders, and many of them were commited more for the benefit of industrious training, than
for the commission of crime. If, therefore, the
universal education of the masses presents such encouraging facts in Europe, what may we not hope
when an efficient law closes our dram-shops, and a
portion of the funds now invested in poison, is appropriated to the payment of the schoolmaster.
When we examine the statistics of our prisons, and
find that nearly all of the 10,000 persons annually
arrested in our city, are brought into this condition
through the influence of liquor, and that a great
proportion of them can neither read nor write, are
we not individually called upon to exert our influence to promote the causes of temperance and
education?
The statistics of the Rosine correspond so perfectly with those of every prison to which we have
referred, that it seems to be a universal fact that
ignorance and intemperance produce vices and
crimes of every grade, and the poverty, disease, and
wretchedness that require the heavy taxation to
which we are subjected, and the numerous charitable associations that absorb our time, and create
a host of respectable beggars.
Of the industrial department of the Rosine, we
can speak cheeringly. The increase in the number
of our customers gives the character of the work.
Two of the inmates are now employed, with salaries,
as teachers of the dress-making and tailoring, while
24*




282            REPORT, 1853.
our matron and another inmate, have charge of the
shirt-making and other sewing. It is a most interesting sight to visit this scene of busy industry,
and compare the past and present condition of those
who now present such bright and happy faces. Some
of them had never made a garment of any kind
before they entered the Rosine; one did not know
how to thread her needle, and very few can be considered efficient until after they have served their
apprenticeship of six months, and even then, many
of them cannot be put on customers' work. The
majority of the inmates being merely learners, and
many of them passing into other families in various
domestic situations, at the end of six or nine months,
prevents our workroom from being as profitable as
it would be if they continued a longer time with us;
but if Providence should favor us with the ability
to enlarge our house, we can then receive all the
applicants, and have accommodations to retain them
longer with us, which would be of great advantage
to them and the Institution.
From October 1st, 1852, to October 1st, 1853,
the number of garments made in the Rosine,
for the use of the family, was  -  -  490
For customers, including 348 shirts, 102 chemises, 50 quilts, 30 night-gowns, 74 dresses,
409 vests, 87 pantaloons, and sundry other
articles, numbering -                1580
Total for the family and customers,  - 2,070
Bringing the sum of  - -  -  -      $830 73
This is an advance of $273 73 earned more than in any
previous year.
Our Intelligence Office continues its work of usefulness, 1920 women and girls have been provided
with situations through its agency. Many of them
were women of the highest respectability. We are
always pleased to record the progress and usefulness of the Temporary Home Association, which




THE LETTER.               283
was founded by some of the Managers of the Rosine,
to provide a safe home and employment for respectable females who were destitute of homes, and without friends to give them one. Situations have been
procured for 2759 women and children, from the
office of this Institution, making from the offices of
the two Associations, 4679 persons, who have been
placed in honest and respectable employment.
When we consider the importance of saving a
single individual from a position in which they may
be tempted to deviate from virtue and integrity;
when we trace the life of that one person through
all the shades of crime in which they may be immersed, and watch their course, with all its sufferings
and sorrows, until, at the close of a miserable existence, they sink into a hopeless eternity; when
we reflect on how much wretchedness may be
crowded into one short life, and believe that, if
some outstretched hand or opened home had not
presented its shelter and protecting influences to
these 4679 persons, many of them might now be
included in the list of wanderers from virtue, then
alone can we appreciate the importance and usefulness of these two Associations, in their preventive
and remedial capacities.
THE LETTER.
Having, for some time, felt the importance of a
simple and brief address to the unfortunate children of sorrow for whom we have been so deeply
interested the following letter was printed, many
copies of which have been circulated among them.




284            THE LETTER.
A number of interesting incidents might be narrated in connection with these letters, but we can
only speak of-two of them.
In company with H. we went to the house of E.,
and paid a most interesting visit. She was one
who, at the age of seventeen, had been persuaded
to elope from the home of her widowed mother
with a lover, who promised marriage, but who
basely took her to a house of bad character, and
in three months married another, and left her to
struggle with the miseries he had brought upon
her. With true pathos she told us her story, and
we could have wept with her as she recounted her
sorrows and trials, her convictions of conscience
and longings after the better life; and then her
hopelessness of attaining it, her resolutions and
failures, with many incidents interspersed, that bespoke a noble and generous mind, with feelings of
strong and deep affection.
When we parted from her we gave her one of
our letters, begging- her to lay its truths in her
heart, and let them grow there till they had so
filled it, that they would burst her bonds asunder,
and she could stand forth, a free woman, in the
true nobility of her nature.
A few days afterwards she met us at the Rosine
House, and asked for another Letter.
She said, the evening after we had called upon
her, a gentleman stopped at her house, on his way
to the theatre. She handed him the Letter to
read, and gave him the history of our visit there.
After perusing it, he put it in his pocket, and bade
her adieu, promising to return it some other time.
When he came again, it was to ask her to obtain
for him another Letter. He told her, when he en



THE LETTER.               285
tered the theatre his attention was attracted by a
very beautiful girl, whom he had never seen there
before, and whom he felt certain had very lately
entered the list of abandoned ones. Perceiving
she was noticed by him, she motioned him to come
to her. He went, and taking a seat beside her,
handed her the Rosine Letter.
While she was reading, he watched her countenance intently. She read, and re-read it. He
marked her lip quiver, and saw her struggle to
suppress her emotion. But tear after tear fell
upon the paper, and blotted the lines till she could
read no longer; then, clasping it firmly in her
handkerchief, she rose precipitately and left the
theatre. Not a word had been spoken by either,
but the words of truth in the Letter had met the
witness for truth in her own mind-it had performed its mission.
On another occasion, we visited a house kept by
a man and woman, of the name of L-. The
woman was kind and polite, but the man seemed
rather surly, and was not particularly pleased with
our addressing the members of his family, as he
feared he might lose his boarders. They told us
one of the girls was absent, and when we parted
with them we left a Letter for her. After our departure L-   read the Letter, and then tore it in
pieces and scattered it about the floor. Soon afterwards the absentee returned, and seeing the scraps
of paper, asked what they were. One of the girls
replied, telling her two ladies had been there, and
left a letter for her, but Mr. L- did not wish
her to see it, and had torn it up. Her curiosity
was awakened-she gathered up the pieces, arranged them on a table, and getting a fine needle




286               THE   LETTER.
and thread, sewed them together neatly, and found
she could read the whole Letter. Had it been
handed to her as we left it, probably she would
have thrown it aside and scarcely looked at it, but
the fact of his destroying the paper, to prevent her
seeing it, created a curiosity and interest, which
made her quite familiar with its contents by the
time the pieces were all placed together. She had
never heard of the Rosine before, and she addressed various inquiries to the girls who had seen
us, to ascertain who we were, and the motives that
could prompt strangers to visit, with such feelings
of interest, those whom she felt were truly the most
friendless part of creation.
Before one week elapsed, that girl was an inmate
of the Rosine House.     She is still there.
THE LETTER.
ToPermit us to say a few words to you. Have you considered
seriously the life you are leading? Are you sensible that it is
in violation bf the laws of God-of your duties as a human
being? Are you aware that you are responsible to your Creator
for every hour of misspent time, for every action of your lifethat his eye is upon you; that in the darkest hour, as in the
noonday, every word, thought, and act are equally before him?
You are ever in his presence! You may forget him for a
while, but he will never forget you, and you must render an
account for every word and deed. Consider, then, how awful
is your situation, living a life of crime, debasing yourself to
the level of the brute creation, despised by your companions
in vice, and regarded with contempt even by those who have
wrought your ruin. Think of your position in society  Consider what you are, and what you might be. A virtuous woman
is a pearl above price-we only ask you to estimate yourself
in the scale of humanity. Think of your mother (if you have
one), of your relatives degraded by your conduct, of the
mothers, sisters, and wives whose feelings are outraged by the
men who associate with you-of the violated duties of every




THE   LETTER.                  287
one connected with you in your present course-and examine
seriously the path you are treading. Does it not lead down to
death, not only of the body but of the soul? Perhaps you
have not desired to pursue a life of crime, and circumstances
more than inclination, have placed you in your unhappy position. Let it be as it may. there is yet a possibility of redemption for you. The Father who watches over you is a God of love,
who will ever receive his penitent children-and there are those
whose hearts have been touched by your misery, whose prayers
have ascended to heaven, craving for you the capacity to
see yourself as you are seen by him, and that you may be
awakened to a proper sense of your situation, and enabled by
his blessing to strive for a better, purer life. Do you not already desire it? do you not abhor your present condition?
Would you not rejoice to abandon such a life-to leave your
debased associates, and return to virtuous and respected independence? If so, you have now the opportunity. A SOCIETY
OF WOMEN has been formed to give you a home, if you are
sincerely desirous of acting rightly, and are willing to support
yourself honestly by the labor of your own hands. You may
have the opportunity of learning tailoring, mantua-making,
and other trades, and be instructed in the usual duties and
employments of women, while at the same time, a daily school
may give you the advantages of literary culture, and the
efforts of those about you shall be such as to convince you,
that a right course will bring you more happiness than a
wrong one, and that the endeavor to pursue the path of virtue,
propriety, and industry, will surround you with those who desire to be truly your friends, and who will not abandon you
while your aim is, a better, purer, holier life.
Information may be received upon the subject, by application to No. 204 North Eighth Street.




288             REPORT, 1854.
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MANAGERS OF THE
ROSINE ASSOCIATION.
April 6th, 1854.
" Sayst thou four months?" behold the fields are now
White to the harvest. Thrust thy sickle in,
And aid the noble reapers who have borne
The burden in the heat, and faint not yet;
Nor will they, till success shall crown their toil.
Oh, be not laggard then, for sloth is sin,
While crime goes unrebuked, and the weak germs of virtue
Unrefreshed by kindness and encouragement, die out."
THE Managers of the Rosine Association present
their Sixth Annual Report to the members and
friends of the Society, under the most favorable
auspices. As year after year passes away, they
find the prejudices with which they have had to
contend are giving place to a more perfect faith in
the possibility of the redemption of woman from
her frailties and missteps, and hope has sprung up
in a multitude of hearts, that many of those who
have seemed to be buried in error, were not dead,
but that, throwing off the chrysalis condition in
which their virtues have been shrouded, they may
arise, and ascend upward and onward, rejoicing in
the new life into which they may emerge from the
darkened period of their existence.
One of the highest manifestations of the progress
of the age is in the increasing evidences of our
being sensible, that we are responsible in a great
degree for the well or ill doing of those around us;
in fact, that we are our brothers' keepers-that
through our influence or our neglect their highest
welfare may be increased or lessened-that by the
exercise of our humanity or our selfishness, they
may be placed in positions either to be elevated or
degraded.




REPORT, 1854.               289
These considerations must ever press with great
force upon every one who has arisen to that state
in which they feel they are bound to labor for
others, both morally and physically, and in our
work, which leads us continually to investigate the
causes of crime, we must'often feel, that as this
consciousness of responsibility increases in the
community, many of the sources of evil will be
eradicated; that the improved educational advantages will qualify many of that class, who
through neglect became the victims of vice, to aim
at and attain higher positions in society; and that
as the knowledge of woman's capacity is extended
in business relations, she will assume and maintain
a station of usefulness that will elevate her above
the fashions and follies that have cramped her
genius, and placed her as the dependent on man,
and too often the victim of his vices.
The low price of labor in the sewing department
has led many a woman to ruin, from her incapacity to earn sufficient to support herself respectably;
but now, as new agents are coming forward as competitors, in the form of sewing-machines, gradually,
as improvements are made, the unhealthy and illpaid toil of the seamstress will be exchanged for
other kinds of business, which her taste may ornament and refine, and which will bring a proper remuneration, irrespective of sex.
The evidences thus around us are cheering, in
the awakening of many individuals to their Christian
duties, in whatever sphere of action Providence has
opened for them; the increase of faith in the possibility of reforming the degraded, and in the prospect of other fields of labor where a better remuneration and greater variety of occupations will
26




290           REPORT, 1854.
have a tendency to increase the mental activity and
physical capacity of woman. The needle and other
domestic employments have been considered the
only suitable avocations of females, while the whole
field of life has been open to man in all the
mechanical and artistical operations, and the commercial, legal, and theological relations. But the
tastes and inclinations of woman are as varied as
those of man, and to some, both the needle and
housework are distasteful, and while they must
choose one of them if they continue in their prescribed position, they cannot but envy the boy who
may turn to whatever business his taste and capacity may lead him. He may there work out at his
will his secret aspirations, and develope the genius
with which he has been endowed, while woman has
ofttimes turned with aversion from her allotted
labor, restless and uneasy, because her interests
were not in her work, and society had limited her
occupation and her sphere, and in every position
she felt she was considered the inferior of man, and
the subject of his will, his caprices, and his vices.
In this situation, and with these longings after
something more congenial with her taste, woman's
work is often illy done, simply because she takes
no delight in it, and she seems idle and indifferent
because her feelings and circumstances differ so
widely. Living thus without an object or interesting employment, her affections alone are cultivated,
and with the volatility of youth, and the ignorance
of the fatal consequences that must result from one
misguided step, she is ofttimes suddenly thrown
from her position in society, and feels herself an
outcast and a criminal.
With the knowledge of these facts constantly




REPORT, 1854.              291
coming before us, and believing, that as woman is
more truly educated, and impressed with the idea
that she can and may make her own sphere of
action, wherever her abilities and qualifications may
lead her, we must rejoice in the opening of other
fields of labor into which she may enter, being entirely convinced that a higher, better training will
be the result, and with the unfoldings of other occupations, woman will become more sensible of her
duties and obligations, and fulfil them in a more
dignified manner, betokening her comprehension of
her responsibility as a being, both human and divine.
We therefore consider these movements of the age
will have a powerful effect upon the morals of the
community, for no woman who is properly trained,
and impressed with the dignity of her own nature,
and her capacity to fulfil the highest duties of life,
would stoop to be guilty of an act either criminal
or degrading.
Since the Rosine House was opened, October 1st,
1847, 325 women have been admitted. Many of
them were in a state of extreme ignorance. Some
did not know how to do anything well or rightly.
The majority needed to be taught as little children.
With these the labor has been one that required
great patience and perseverance as there was not
only new lessons to learn but old habits to conquer,
and our excellent Matron has ofttimes needed all the
virtues in the catalogue to preserve her equanimity.
The office of Matron in such an institution is no
sinecure. Her duties commence with the dawn of
day, and only end when all are abed, and not always
then, as in so large a family there are occasionally
cases of illness, that need the watcher's care and
the maternal superintendence.




292            REPORT, 1854.
Our Work Room presents an interesting appearance to those who can comprehend the degradation,
which many of our inmates have known, and see the
change that has been wrought in their condition.
Some of them are very young, and have not become
intemperate, but there are few of those who have
numbered years of depravity, to whom the fatal cup
has not been familiar. The inflamed eyes, and
bloated, wretched appearance of some of our applicants for admission, combined with their utter disregard of cleanliness, and of decent apparel, require
at times the greatest exercise of faith, hope, and
charity, to be able to receive them, and bestow that
mantle, that covereth a multitude of sins. But a
week hardly elapses before a wonderful change is
wrought in the outward appearance, as a portion of
self-respect springs into the mind, from a consciousness of an intention to aim at the right, and an
effort to fulfil it. There is one there, who some of
us knew five years ago, but she seemed so low, so
habituated to intemperance, so familiar from her
very childhood with the prison, and houses of infamy, that we were altogether hopeless of her and
could hardly say to her, Come! But she did come!
A few days passed, and she left us. The regularity
of a quiet family the habits of industry, and the
abstinence of stimulants, she was not prepared for.
Months passed and again she came. But the habits
of years were not conquered, and though she began
to conceive that there might be a higher life for her,
yet it was seen too dimly to give her perseverance.
Once more she left us, and was found in her former
resorts. But the witness that had been awakened
in her heart slept no longer; there were cravings,
that her former enjoyments could not satisfy, and




REPORT, 1854.              293
in the scene of revelry came the remembrance of
the hours of exhortation, of prayer and of praise in
the Rosine. Doubtless there was many a struggle
in her mind, and alternations of weakness, and of
strong resolve, but again she came. Over two years
have passed and she is still with us. She has
learned to be a tailoress, and is now employed on a
salary, with sometimes a dozen girls around her,
as her apprentices.
There is another there, a fine shirt-maker, who
was respectably married in Canada. But she placed
her enemy to her lips, and the liquid poison she
absorbed became her master. Her duties were neglected for the maddening bowl, until she felt her
degradation so intensely that husband and children
were deserted, and her restless foot bore her to this
city. Here, among those she would once have
scorned, days, months, and years passed. The
Almighty spared her in her desolation, and in
mercy led her to the Rosine, where she has been
two years, usefully employed.
Nearly three years since, a girl of almost childlike appearance came to the Rosine. She had lost
her mother when onlya few days old, and had been
seduced from the situation where her father had
placed her, by one, who in the upper ranks of life,
abused the gifts of Providence by his own depravity
and the perversion of others. She became the mother of two children, one of whom happily died, and
the other the father took from her a few days after
its birth, and she knows nothing further of its history. Soon afterwards he placed her in a house of
bad character, and then abandoned her. But her
Heavenly Father had not deserted her, but sent to
that abode of sin, one, on whose lips was the law of
25*




294           REPORT, 1854.
kindness, and she reasoned with her on the law of
God, and the heart of the child was touched (for she
was then not 17 years old), and she said, "I will go
to the Rosine." She came. But though young in
years, she was old in iniquity. The most profane
expressions were her familiar language, and she was
accustomed to yield to the most ungoverned transports of temper. Idleness seemed born in her, except when an opportunity presented to torment
others. This was a case, in which wisdom, patience,
and perseverance were needed continually, and
some of us considered it altogether a hopeless
one. But there were some redeeming qualities.
There was a foundation of good common sense and
a heart full of affection, and this encouraged us to
labor with her, ofttimes almost against hope. Several months passed, before there was much sensible improvement, but the desire was raised, to please
some of those who she felt had borne with her, even
against hope, and she saw and acknowledged that
Providence had saved her from a life of transgression, and placed her among those who loved and
pitied her, and were willing to put her upon her
feet, and support her there, by their counsel and
assistance. Her better feelings gained the mastery! The impious word was banished from her
lip, the frightful outbursts of temper were subdued,
and the once idle girl is now a competent needlewoman. During the last year she has been engaged by the week as seamstress in several families, and we have received very flattering testimonials of her usefulness. On the last Christmas day
she presented one of the managers a token of her
feelings, in the form of a silver napkin ring, with
the words " Gratitude's Offering" engraved upon it.




REPORT, 1854.              295
A few days since, her father (who had entirely disowned her and refused to have any communication
with her), called upon us, to say, that by the death
of her step-mother there was a vacancy in his household, and he had now come to solicit the long-discarded child to fill it; to be the caretaker of that
home she had not been allowed to enter, and to act
as the mother of his two young, motherless children. It is a position of great responsibility, and
when we consented to return her to the parental
roof, it was affecting to witness the gratitude of the
father, and the self-sacrificing spirit of the daughter.
May she have strength and wisdom given to her to
fulfil her duties.
A number of our former inmates are situated in
families as seamstresses and in other departments,
and are getting good wages, and behaving in a creditable manner. One has been during the past
year, attending in a dry goods store. Another,
who was several years the mistress of a house of
bad character, is now going out nursing. One is
employed in a clothing establishment, and one is
earning good wages working a sewing machine.
A young woman, who came under our care soon
after opening the Institution, has lived five years in
the family, where she was placed, and within a few
months has married a very respectable farmer, with
every promise of respectability and happiness. For
another we have deposited $45 in the Saving Sund.
One, whose life has been connected with circumstances of deep and touching interest, has been for
some time housekeeper in a wealthy family, and has
conducted in a manner to gain their affection and
esteem. She has $115 at interest earned (beside
clothing herself handsomely), since she left the
Rosine.




296           REPORT, 1854.
The limits of a pamphlet will not permit, or we
might narrate many interesting circumstances of
the history of others who have been inmates of the
Rosine.
But we were speaking of our work room and have
made this digression. Our large family during the
past two years, has been under great inconvenience
for want of room everywhere, our kitchen and
dining apartments are entirely too small, our chambers are exceedingly crowded, and the work room
has not afforded the necessary space for the various
employments of the inmates. There also, are held
our meetings for worship. Within the last month,
the partitions separating the rooms and the entry,
have been removed, and we have now a large and
fine apartment, which will very much add to the
comfort and convenience of the family. But we
see no means to enlarge our other departments, and
have not had funds either to buy or build, but day
after day, as applicants have been refused admission
for the want of room, we have felt an increasing
necessity for a fund, that would not only enable us
to obtain more extensive accommodations, but would
be a permanent income to contribute toward the
support of the Institution. We felt our cause was
not only our cause, but that of humanity; that the
Association was not only doing good to those in the
Rosine walls, but that it had exercised a healthful
influence throughout the community; that thousands of minds through our reports and appeals had
been led to reflect upon subjects and duties, from
which they had turned carelessly, and have felt,
they could no longer walk with the priest and the
Levite on the other side, but that to this unfortunate
and degraded class, they owed the duty of the




REPORT, 1854.                   297
neighbor. They have been sensible, that through
the labors and influences of this Society, very many
who had been, and in all probability would again be,
charges in the prison and almshouse, were now raised
to a respectable position, and were supporting themselves honestly and decently.
In this situation and with these views, we believed
the period had come that we might rightly apply to
the State Legislature for an appropriation.      The
following Memorial and Petition       were therefore
prepared, with the signatures of the Managers and
some of the Members:
To the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of
Pennsylvania:
Gentlemen: The Managers of the "Rosine Association of
Philadelphia," a Society incorporated April 11, 1848, " for the
reformation, employment, and instruction of females who have
led immoral lives," beg leave to state that they have been in
operation six years, during which period they have received
over three hundred unfortunate women, who had been in habits
of dissipation and vice-the majority of whom were homeless
and friendless, without reputation or the means to earn an
honest living, and have had them instructed in sewing, cooking,
and other domestic avocations, while at the same time, their
mental and moral faculties have been cultivated by the means
of a school and religious associations, so as to qualify them to
become useful and respectable members of society. Many of
these women have been inmates of prisons, almshouses, and
houses of immoral character; and, had it not been for the exertions of the members of this Association, they would probably
have continued in the same evil courses, and still be nuisances
in the community, by their demoralizing habits and influence,
living at the expense of the public, and carrying wretchedness
and desolation to the private hearthstone of their own and
other families.
Nothing of a local or sectarian character has ever been embraced by this Association. Of the three hundred and twenty
women who have been inmates, ninety-five were fiom England,
Ireland, and Germany, eighty-five were natives of Philadelphia,




298              REPORT, 1854.
eighty were from other counties in this State, and sixty were
from other States of the Union; eighty were Catholics, and
two hundred and forty either professing Protestantism or no
religion. Very few among them knew anything either of the
principles or moral obligations of any religious society. The
object of the Managers has been to impress upon the subjects
of their care, the duties inculcated in the " Sermon upon the
Mount," but doctrines of a sectarian nature have been entirely
avoided. They have endeavored (as far as possible), to remedy
the defects in the early training of these women, by developing
the better qualities of their minds, and cultivating a sense of
the importance of virtue, industry, honesty, and truthfulness,
and of self-reliance, grounded upon the exercise of these principles. Of the three hundred and twenty women who have
been inmates of the Rosine, one hundred and twenty could not
read understandingly when admitted; one hundred and sixtythree could not write, and only four knew the multiplication
table perfectly; one hundred and twenty-six were marked intemperate, but many others drank occasionally.
The." Rosine Association" was formed in 1847, and named
in honor of Rosa Govona, an Italian girl, who originated several
associations in her own country for friendless and unfortunate
females. It came into existence from a conviction that had
grown in the minds of many persons, that all women were not
really vicious who appeared to be so, but that, if they were
ever reformed, it must be by their own sex removing the prejudices of society, and producing a public sentiment, which,
while it condemned crime, irrespective of sex, would extend
the hand of sympathy and kindness to the penitent, and
endeavor to enable them to tread the path of virtue and
morality.
From the privacy necessary in this reform, the Managers
cannot show the effects of their labor. It is their duty, as far
as possible, to blot out the memory of the past, and present to
the world, not the reformed transgressor, but the useful, respectable woman, qualified to fulfil and perform the duties of life.
Of the three hundred and twenty women who have been in
the Institution, two hundred and thirty-five were under twentyfive years of age. Among the number more advanced, thirteen
have been mistresses of houses of immoral character. Several
of these women have proved the sincerity of their reformation
by entering and continuing in private families as domestics.
Over a dozen have married reputably since they left the institution. Some have been restored to the parental roof, while




REPORT, 1854.                   299
many others are filling various situations as domestics in
families.
Had not this Society opened the " Rosine House" and received these unfortunates, in all probability the majority of
them would have become a public charge, and continued to be
a disgrace to themselves and to humanity. More than fifty
women at this time are inmates of the Home, but we cannot
report the number of applicants that have been refused admission into the Rosine on account of the crowded condition of
the House, as no record has been taken; but very many have
not been received in consequence of our inability to provide
accommodations, and the want of funds to increase them.
The Society came into existence without any endowment
but faith and hope, energy and industry. They believed the
effort was right and would prove successful. Year after year
they have gone as beggars from door to door soliciting contributions, and have thus gathered the'funds by which the Institution has been supported, except the amount earned by the
family, which has been a small proportion, in consequence of
the ignorance of the women, when they entered the Home,
and the generality of them leaving there as soon as they are
considered sufficiently trained to be placed in families.
Gentlemen-the period has arrived when we feel that we
may rightfully ask of you an appropriation of funds that may
assist us to pay off the debt of twenty-eight hundred dollars on
our Institution, enable us to enlarge our House and accommodations, and prevent the necessity of our continuing to be
street beggars.
We therefore ask you to pass a law appropriating the sum
of three thousand dollars, annually, towards the extension and
maintainance of the " Rosine House," subject to the control
of the Board of Managers that are, or may be appointed by the
Society.
With   this Memorial and Petition, the VicePresident, and Treasurer of the Society, proceeded
to Harrisburg. They also took with them the following Recommendation, signed by the Mayor of
the City, seven of the Judges of our Courts, the
Attorney-General, and a number of our most distinguished lawyers, physicians, editors, and merchants.




300              REPORT, 1854.
RECOMMENDATION.
The undersigned, citizens of Philadelphia, respectfully recommend to the Senate and House of Representatives of
Pennsylvania, the application of the Managers of the Rosine
Association, of Philadelphia, for an annual appropriation.
The efforts of the ladies of this Society, which was incorporated April 11th, 1848, "for the reformation, employment, and
instruction of females who have led immoral lives," must have
a beneficial tendency, not only by restoring the fallen to a life
of virtuous industry and usefulness, but by the prevention of
these persons being chargeable to the community through
their crimes, or misdemeanors. We therefore entirely approve of their application for an appropriation.
John C. Knox; J. S. Black; George W. Woodward; Ellis
Lewis; Wm. D. Kelley; Oswald Thompson; Joseph
Allison; Wm. B. Reed; Wm. B. Mann; John M. Read;
Job R. Tyson; Morton McMichael; James S. Wallace;
Charles Gilpin; Samuel H. Perking; Joseph R. Ingersoll; J. K. Kane; Charles McAllister; S. Murphy, M.D.;
P. McCall; John T. Sharpless, M.D.; Charles O'Neill;
Charles B. Penrose; John Hanna; J. M. Cooper; James
Huston; Lindsay & Blakiston; Washington Brown;
Townsend Sharpless; Fithian, Jones & Co.; Schaffer,
Roberts & Co.; Wright, Pike & Co.; Deal, Milligan &
Co.; G. W. & Lewis B. Taylor; J. & B. Orne; Samuel
Townsend; F. V. Warner; Reed A. Williams; Franklin
Shoemaker; John T. Smith; Thomas B. Supplee; Wolfe,
Ballard & Co.; Levick, Brother & Co.; Howard Williams; Buckner, McCammon & Co.; J. P. Sanderson;
Robert Morris; W. H. Crump; Samuel Jeanes; Deacon,
Peterson & Co.; Lewis Audenried; Chas. A. Poulson;
Charles Lennig; Fred. Lennig; S. P. Hastings; Bunn,
Raiguel & Co.; Alex. Miller; Joseph I. Williams; James
L. Claghorn; John H. Brown; Robt. H. Small; Julian
& Mason; D. B. Hinman; Edward S. Simmons.
A copy of the Memorial and Petition, with the
following extracts from the presentments of two of
the Grand Juries, who had visited the Rosine House,
during the past year, were presented to each member of the Senate, and House of Representatives,
accompanied by an appeal, and the report of last
October.




REPORT, 1854.                    301
PRESENTMENTS,
In the month of January, 1853, the Rosine
House was visited by the Grand Jury, and in their
presentment, they say:
" At the Rosine Association, we were gratified to learn that so
much good had been accomplished by an Institution so little
known. The benevolence and untiring devotion of the ladies
connected with it, in reclaiming a class of unfortunate females,
who, before the establishment of this Asylum, were, to a certain extent, friendless, deserves the highest praise. There are
a number of inmates actively employed in appropriate branches
of female industry, all being in good health, and well provided
for, and apparently desirous of returning to the paths of virtue.
This benevolence furnishes a Home, not a place of confinement,
to those who have been misled, and supported as it is by private contributions only, it cannot be too highly recommended
to the attention and liberality of Philadelphians. The amount
of good that is annually accomplished, in a quiet way, deserves
and should receive the support of our citizens."
In the presentment of the Grand Jury for October term, 1853, they say:
"The Grand Inquest also visited the Rosine Association.
This Institution deserves to be better known and more liberally patronized by the public, for the many instances on record of the reforms that have taken place in the lives and characters of some of the most abandoned and unfortunate of the
female sex, who, by the kind and tender treatment received in
the Rosine, have been awakened to a sense of their previous
situation, and have made a thorough change of conduct, from
that of the most immoral character to one of virtue, which
always secures to its possessor, health, prosperity, and happiness."
AN APPEAL.'Tis Woman pleads for Woman's cause,
Against the arbitrary laws
Which custom, throughout hoary time,
Has named " a weakness" or, "a crime."
When erring Mlan has gone astray,
And victims won from Virtue's wav,
26




802               REPORT, 1854.
Society so lenient grows
That o'er the crime a veil it throws,
Which hides the fault, and scarcely blames
" The weakness" in the gentlest namesBut crime is crime when Woman sins,
And punishment with crime begins.
No veil around her fault is thrown;
No hand outstretched-she stands alone:
No mantle can her errors hide,
Or shield reproaches from her side;
An outcast, often, from the dome
Where once she graced the hearth and home,
She wanders forth in guilt's array,
Ashamed to meet the light of day;
A Pariah-lost to caste and name,
Her portion henceforth is but shame;
The midnight revel lulls her woe,
And she degraded, sinks so low,
That years or months can scarcely pass
Till, maddened by the accursed glass,
That drowns the grief she may not tell,
She sinks within the prison cell;
Or, prostrate, under fell disease,
Her anguish knows no hours of easeIn hopeless, deep remorse she lies,
And in the PAUPER'S ALMSHOUSE dies!
And, shall we leave her there, to die-'Or in the dreary prison lie?
Shall she, if life be spared, remain
A thing accursed-a social bane,
When, in her soul's deep fountains, spring
Feelings divine, which ever bring
Pure aspirations for the right,
Which die not, ev'n in misery's night?
Shall we thus leave her to her fate,
Friendless and hopeless-desolate?
When, at our word, our sesame,
Hearts, and a Home shall open be,
To greet the wandering child of shame,
And welcome her in Virtue's name,
Point out the path which she may tread
To earn with honor-raiment-bread!
Expand her mind with learning's store,
And culture talents waked once more;
Convince her, woman's heart and voice
Will o'er the PENITENT rejoice,
And aid her in each hour of need,
With, Sister, onward! God thee speed!
Shall we not then our efforts blend,
And each one prove the wanderer's friend?
Our voice, our aid, our influence give,
And say, RETURN-REPENT and LIVE!




REPORT, 1854.             303
Our managers were received with the highest respect and kindness by the members of the legislature, and their application was presented in both
Houses at the earliest opportunity. In the Senate
it was referred to the Finance Committee, who proposed to our ladies to withdraw the petition for an
annual appropriation, as in the low state of the
treasury it was not probable we could obtain more
than a donation of $3000. A highly interesting
discussion took place, during which one of the members remarked, that the object of our application
was to obtain a fund that would enable us to enlarge
the Institution-that we now owed $2800 on the
Rosine House. The sum asked for would only clear
us of debt, and leave us $200, which would not
effect our purpose. He therefore offered a resolution, to empower the City Councils to give the
Society $10,000, with which something might be
done. This resolution was not acceded to, and
another gentleman offered an amendment, and a
second section to the bill, which in this form passed
by a vote of 21 yeas in our favor.
AN ACT APPROPRIATING CERTAIN MONEYS TO
THE ROSINE ASSOCIATION.
Section 1.-Be it enacted by the Senate, etc.,
that the sum of $3000 be, and the same'is, hereby
appropriated to the Rosine Association of Philadelphia, incorporated April 11, 1848, for the purchasing a lot, or erecting or purchasing buildings
for the operations of the Association: Provided, that
this Act shall not take effect, until an equal amount
shall have been subscribed by other responsible contributors, to said Association.




304           REPORT, 1854.
Sect. 2.-That the Councils of the City of Philadelphia are hereby authorized to appropriate to
the said Association, hereafter, any sum, or sums
of money, not exceeding $3000, in any one year.
In the House of Represenatives the bill was
passed by a vote of 51 yeas, nays 28.
Our friends at Harrisburg consider our application has been remarkably successful, as they have
no doubt, through the well-known benevolence of
Philadelphia, we shall soon raise the $3000, which
will entitle us to claim the appropriation of the
State, and, with this sum, we can make arrangements to enlarge our Institution, which our consolidated Councils can by law enable us to fulfil. But
we cannot expect to accomplish anything without
effort,-we must, therefore, endeavor to enlist the
sympathies of the friends of humanity to aid us in
procuring the first $3000, which is to claim the
second. The work of the managers has heretofore
been arduous, between the varied duties in the
Rosine, the necessary visits in other places, and the
begging and collecting which our poverty has made
an imperative necessity. We therefore must ask
the aid of our friends in every way. In Boston, it
has not been an unusual circumstance, for private
liberality to endow charitable institutions. Can we
believe the citizens of Boston to be more generous,
more humane, than our own? We do not! And
with so important an object as the reformation, employment, and instruction of the most unfortunate
of the human race, we hope and believe that our
anticipations will be realized.
Our work-room, under the care of our excellent
matron, gives the most-cheering evidence of what
patient instruction can perform. Very few of our




REPORT, 1854.                  305
inmates have been possessed of industrious habits
when they entered the Rosine, or were acquainted
with more than the rudiments of sewing, but we
are now entirely willing to refer to our customers
for the character of our work, and are happy to
say, that we have no difficulty in procuring as much
as we desire.
From April 1st, 1853, to March 25th, 1854,
the number of garments made in the Rosine,
| for the use of the family, was  -  -  -  520
For customers, including 384 shirts, 157 chemises, 42 quilts, 50 night gowns, 64 dresses,
822 vests, 97 pantaloons, 22 embroidered articles, and sundries, numbering altogether,  -  1794
Total for the family and customers,  -   -  2314
Bringing the sum of,     $-1099 43
The receipts from the work-room, in the year
ending April 1st, 1853, were, -  -  - $623 64
This is an advance of $475 79, earned more
than in any previous year.
Our Intelligence Office still continues to provide
situations for respectable females. It was opened,
because we had reason to believe, that innocent
girls were often sent from intelligence offices to
houses of immoral character, and thus led to ruin.
At a subsequent period, the managers of the Rosine
were impressed with the importance of another institution, which might give a safe home to respectable but friendless females, when thrown out of employment, and procure situations for them, and a
public meeting was called, at which the Temporary
Home Association was formed.      The two societies
are in no way connected, except that some of the
ladies have been managers in both.
The Rosine Intelligence Office has provided homes,
and employment, for women and children,  - 2044
The Intelligence Office of the Temporary Home, - 3337
Making from the offices of the two Institutions,  5381
26*




306            REPORT, 1854.
The Rosine Association has thus, either directly
or indirectly, been the means of providing situations
for 5381 women and children. The success attending these efforts to provide homes and employment
for this class of persons, proves how much good may
be done with a small amount of means; but we can
never know how many of these women may have
thus been saved from temptations of various kinds,
to which the homeless and friendless are ever subjected. Within the year, the Temporary Home
has given a temporary shelter to 278 persons, and
procured situations for nearly all of them.
TREASURER'S ACCOUNT.
The receipts from April 1, 1853, to March 25,
have been,
From the work-room,  -     $1,099 43
Board of inmates, -  -  -  -  51 00
Donations and subscriptions, -  - 1,730 75
-----   $2,881 18
EXPENSES.
Interest on the ground-rent on the
house, -                   $80 00
Family expenses, including salaries,
fuel, clothing, marketing, etc., - 2,795 26
----- 2,875 26
Cash on hand, -    -.        5 92
$2,881 18
At the period of our October Report, we were
$92 17 in debt, besides the $2800 due on the
house. We then remarked, that we had faith to
believe, that, though the barrel might be empty, and
the cruse might fail, yet they would both be replenished.  That belief has been verified in a wonderful manner, and hearts and hands have been opened
to help us in answer to our appeals, and we have
still been able to provide for our large family. But




REPORT, 1854.                 307
many have been refused admission for the want of
room, as the accommodations are entirely too limited
for the necessities of such an institution. May we
not, then, ask our members and friends to aid us,
not only by their own contributions, but as collectors among their friends, that a more capacious
home may be prepared to receive the unfortunate
wanderers from virtue, who are truly " the poorest
of the poor."
To our friends and contributors, our ministers
and physicians, we desire to present our thanks,
and, at the same time, congratulate them, that they,
with us, have had the privilege of assisting in that
work, in which Jesus gave us so glorious an example.
REPLY TO A LETTER FROM A SOUTHERN LADY.
REBECCA DEAR:
Thy letter came,
And tells me thou art yet the same
Warm-hearted southern maid,
To whom my mind still fondly clings,
Of whom my memory still brings
Thoughts, which can never fade.
It is delightful, dear, to me
To know, that while I thought of thee,
And felt my spirit rove
To that bright, sunny land of thine,
That thou shouldst wish to visit mine,
And bring thy pledge of love.
How can we doubt, when thus we feel
An influence around us steal,
That binds us heart to heart,
That comes unseen to human ken,
We know not how, we know not when,
And seems of us a part,




308          REPLY     TO A   LETTER
That spirits mingle, and may shed,
Like shadows o'er the streamlet spread,
A charm, a magic dear;
Yet, like those shadows, pass away,
Nor leave memorial of their stay,
Upon the eye, or ear.
It matters not, that thoughts should take
The self-same hues, and always make
On each, the same impress.
The shadows charm but by their change,
A house, a cloud, a mountain range,
By turns the waters dress.
And should our hearts be chilled, grow cold,
Because the landscape might unfold
To thy admiring eye,
A brighter glow, a deeper shadeA sky in lovelier tints arrayed,
Than mine could then espy?'Tis variation still excites,
And both the mind and ear delights!
Hast thou not proved it dear?
And couldst thou wish that I should be
Afraid to utter thoughts to thee,
Because they breathed a tone
Of higher, or of lower key,
Than seemed to form sweet melody,
Or answered to thy own?'Tis friction makes the metals bright,
And the dim mass reflect the light;
So with the human mind;
Attrition wears the rust away
Which time has gathered, and decay
Is left in dust behind.
I should regret my words should seem
Harsh on thy ear, or thou should deem
My feelings were unkind
To thee, or thine; because my heart
With the oppressed has taken part,
And I would fain unbind
The fetters, time has o'er us thrown,
Not on one suffering class alone,
But clasping round each one;
Our chains are not more light to bear




FROM    A SOUTHERN        LADY.        309
Because they old, and rusted are,
And came from sire to son.
The spirit of the present age
Is progress; and on every page
We see the march of mind,
Save on that one dark, fadeless blot,
Which, like a pestilential spot
Within our midst we find:
We mark its influence around,
We see it hath no local bound
Within a state, or space,
But the malaria widely spread
Infects our air, till it hath bred
Disease in every place.
See rank injustice in that hall
Where all are slaves, and none dare call
Themselves in truth, the free!
The lordly Southron is a slave,
His institutions dig the grave
Of his own liberty!
How many are the toils, and pains
By which he rivets on his chains;
He must be Argus-eyed,
And watch each wildly waving blast,
That from the North comes rushing past
In freedom's manly pride,
Lest it should tell that hearts there be
That pant, and long for liberty,
Not for themselves alone;
But whose petitions daily rise
Like incense to the list'ning skies,
For hearts to them unknown I
And mark the laws through which he speaks
His despot will, wherein he seeks
To chain immortal mind,
And level with the senseless clod,
The image of a mighty God,
And brutify his kind.
He knows, should education give
The light of knowledge, there would live
But short despotic sway I
The chains that bind would broken be,




310           REPLY     TO  A  LETTER
And one great shout for liberty,
Rise to the God of day.
Mark too, how varied are the laws
Made for the same offending cause
For white men, or for black.
The white, whose situation lies
Among the learned, great, and wise
If found off virtue's track,
Is lightly punished, as if skin
Could lighten crime, or lessen sin,
While the degraded slave
Who never read law's written leaves,
For the same act the doom receives
Of death. A felon's grave I
A volume scarcely could unfold,
The list of wrongs that might be told
Arising from this plan,
Which leaves the slave no self-control,
And brutifies the human soul
And makes man, less than man.
Return we now to that great hall
Where Northern men, with Southern, call
On Freedom, Justice, Right I
And mark how they their trusts betray,
And barter our dear rights away
To shield our country's blight.
Oh! could our fathers, when they rose
And wrestled with our British foes,
And broke oppression's chain,
Believe their children e'er would yield
The right of speech, and basely wield
Slave manacles again 1
I feel my indignation rise,
When those who should be great and wise
And echo Freedom's tone,
Basely our Northern rights succumb,
Are dough-faced tools-or else are dumb
And thus their slav'ry own.
And tell me not, fanatic zeal
Has waked in me-for thou would'st feel
As keenly as I can,
Did not thy habits-interests-lie




FROM A SOUTHERN LADY. 
Within that binding policy
That chattelizes man.
Thou askest "What my plan would be?
If I would set three millions free
And drive them from my door?
And say'Go seek your daily bread,
With me you cannot lay your head,
You can return no more i"'
No I No! indeed I that would not be
The breathing of humanity!
But I would proudly say,
" I know that I have done you wrongMy conscience bids me not prolong
Your bondage for a day.
I would not wish my friends to part,
You are entwined around my heart,
Your int'rest is my own,
And if with me you freely stay,
Whate'er is right, my hand shall payI act on this alone!
But, if with wild and roving will
You wish to leave my hearthstone, still
Depart in peace-departI would not one free spirit bind,
Nor cramp the energies, or mind
Of one heaven-gifted heart.No more the lash shall now be borne,
Nor husbands from their wives be torn,
Nor children severed wide;
But holy ties be cherished still,
And culture teach you to fulfil
Duties, no more denied."
Our idle demagogues have sought
To spread alarms, with horror fraught,
And threatenedvengeance dire,
And sword and rapine would alone
For your long list of wrongs atone,
And blood, and scathing fire;
But well I know the negro heart
With kindly feelings prompt to start,
And I can ne'er believe




812          REPLY     TO  A   LETTER
The dearest boon my hand could give,
Which bids the slave a freeman live,
An ingrate would receive.
Britannia's Islands proudly show
Man may be just. What blessings flow
There, upon every hand I
Millions lift up the voice of praiseRocks, mountains, plains, respond their lays,
And Freedom crowns the land I
Rebecca well I know that now
The Law will no such course allow,
But such is what should be;
And were you freemen, would the law
Thus keep each noble heart in awe?
Alas! ye are not free!
Ye dare not act as freemen may I
Ye dare not bid the freed-man stay
Upon his native soil,
And use the rights which nature gave,
Rights which our natures claim and crave,The meed of honest toil.
Yet say not, " These things cannot be I
Address not words like these to me I
What influence have I?
I am no Man to rule the state,
To mingle in the fierce debate,
And bid the despot fly I
Can I with sovereign states prevail
And send glad tidings with each gale
That flies from sea to sea?
Bid them no longer boast in vain,
But wipe away Columbia's stain,
And be in truth the Free I
This is no mission for my hand I
Avarice-pride-control the land,
Could Woman then prevail?
The only weapons she can wield
Are Mercy's banner-Pity's shieldAnd what can they avail?"
They can avail I for private life,
And woman, too, hath power, the strife
Which angry words may wage




FROM    A  SOUTHERN       LADY.        313
Is not her forte-she may not shine
Where passion rules the soul divine,
But she may give her gage
To feel, and act on Mercy's side,
To plead for Justice when denied,
And hold Oppression's arm,
And point to Manly Pride, and Might,Her motto, "God, Justice, and Rightl"
In these lie Woman's charm I
And here is, too, her noble path,
For she a soul and feeling hath,
Of high and holy mould,
Which lets not selfishness or pride
Her sense of right subdue, and guideFor virtue is she bold.
And she dare speak! Is not the tone
Of Love, of Mercy, all her own?
With these she hath her hour'Tis mind-not sex, that bears the sway,
And Man will her behests obey,
And yield him to her power.
Say not, " I have no influence!"
See! Woman sails o'er seas immense,
Giving love, health, and time,
To win the Pagan from his shrine,
And teach him truths she deems divine,
Unheeding toil, or clime.
And doth she doubt a Woman's power?
Storms may arise, and clouds may lower,
Yet, with a holy zeal,
She girdeth on her armor bright,
Trusting Jehovah's arm of might
The Pagan heart may feel.
And hast not thou a tongue, a pen,
Which thou canst wield at will? And when
Thy noble, kindly heart,
Feels the rude taunt a foreign hand
Has cast on thy beloved land,
Think then hast thou no part
In meriting the censure thrown?
Does not thy heart its justness own?
Does it not urge thee then
27




814          REPLY     TO  A   LETTER
To use the weapons given thee,
To combat wrong-win victoryAnd free thy fellow-men?
Is thy power less than hers, who goes
Where Brahma rules-where Ganges flows,
Trusting in Israel's God?
Thy countrymen more hard to win
From wrong, oppression, shame, and sin,
Than they on India's sod?
Thou say'st, " Our fathers o'er the main
"Inflicted on us this vile stain 1"
But tell me, have we not,
With almost superhuman stroke,
From our own shoulders thrown their yoke?
Then cannot this dark blot
Be wiped away? Have we not skill
Still to work out a nation's will?
Sit we with folded hands,
And helpless, hopeless, meanly hear
The nations round us scoff and jeer?
The scorned of other lands I
"See I" they exclaim I " yon boasting Flag I
Beneath-white slaves uphold their gag,
And dark ones circle round 1
Yet hark I they shout for Liberty!'Land of the Brave 1 Home of the Free!'
What inconsistent ground 1"
And England, too, thou sayst has slaves,
"That they are buried as in graves,
Within the darkened mine,
Deprived of education, light,
Religion-doomed to endless night,
With scarce a trait divine."
But tell me, have they not the right,
Whene'er they wish to seek the lightEnjoy the sun and air?
Can they not rove where'er they will,
And Nature's cravings all fulfil?
No master binds them there!
"Her manufactories display
Oppression too I" But tell me, say,
Are they still bound to bear?
No I free as air their steps may rove,
And with them go the hearts they love,




FEOM    A  SOUTHERN       LADY.        315
And heaven's free bounties share.
No hand dare sever man and wife,
Disturb the bonds of social life,
Or break the moral ties;
The earnings of each toil-worn hand
Are sacred for the little band
That claims its sympathies.
And were it even true, that they
Were under more tyrannic sway,
More degradation knew,
Than the vast mass who on our shore
Are held as chattels, and not moreWere this, Rebecca, true,
Would it our erring steps excuse,
Their crimes make ours their blackness lose;
Have we not moral might
Of heart, and mind, and soul, to feel
God's revelations, which unseal
The laws of truth and right?
Were all the world beside arrayed
In wrong and bloodshed, could it shade
From His omniscient eye
Our crimes, our sins? Could it atone
For us? Must not each heart alone
Give answer to the sky?
Thou speakest of the kindness shown
Your household slaves. Its truth, I ownThine eye may ne'er have seen
Aught that would harsh or cruel seem,
Or thou unkind, unjust, could deem,
Wherever thou hast been;
Yet in this city, where the bound
So little sympathy have found,
Where outrage, bloodshed, wrong,
Have marked with bold and lawless hand
The tyrant spirit of our land,
With persecution strong,
Hundreds of refugees we find,
The South could neither keep nor bind,
Who with content will bear
Starvation, friendless want and woe,
As cellars, lanes, and alleys show,
So freedom they may share.




316          REPLY     TO  A  LETTER.
Official records tell us here,
Within the last eventful year
Canadia's shore hath seen
Full fifteen hundred cross her line,
The north star oft the only sign
Which hath their guidance been.
Could we ask greater proofs than these,
Which come with every southern breeze,
When, breaking nature's ties,
The flying slave will dangers share,
And hardships, toil, and hunger bear,
To win the cherished prize?
That in the human heart their lives
A principle which ever gives,
Alike o'er land and sea;
Its dearest, warmest, strongest thrill,
Which chains cannot subdue nor chill,
To deathless Liberty.
Rebecca, when the pen I took,
I knew not I should write a book,
But thought came after thought,
And urged me on, to claim from thee
That utterance of sympathy,
With which thy heart is fraught.
I know that in thy inmost soul
Thou hatest wrong, and would control
Oppression's iron hand;
For thou with woman's heart canst feel,
And nobly meet my bold appeal
For Freedom and our land.
My words perchance may give thee pain,
And thou mayst think it is in vain
My country's wrongs I tell.
But who futurity can span?
Let us have hope in God and man 
Rebecca, fare thee well I




REPORT, 1855.                       317
REPORT OF THE MANAGERS OF THE ROSINE
ASSOCIATION.
To secure from vice and degradation a class of women who
have forfeited their claim to the respect of the virtuous-to
prepare and maintain for them an asylum, which, by its
system of religious instruction, shall elevate their moral
nature, teach them how to gain an honest living "by the
work of their own hands," and eventually to render them
useful members of the community-an Association has been
formed, and denominated the ROSINE ASSOCIATION of Philadelphia.
President, Sophia Lewis; Vice-President, Priscilla H. Hensey; Treasurer, Mira Townsend;
Secretaries, Lydia Gillingham, Anna           Shomaker,
E. Louisa Carr.
Managers-Mary Murphy, Martha Wilson, Anna
M. Taylor, Rachel Child, Sarah J. Webb, Susanna
Lower, Elizabeth Carr, Eunice Tolman, Harriet
Probasco, and Ann L. Rogers.
Physicians-Drs. John        D. Griscom, Henry C.
Child, Hannah H. Longshore, George Truman, and
James Pearce.
" Abon Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase)
Awoke one night from a sweet dream of peace,
And saw (within the moonlight of his room,
Making it rich, like lilies in full bloom)
An Angel, writing in a book of gold;
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
And to the presence in the room, he said-'What writest thou?' the Vision raised his head,
And, with a smiling look of sweet accord,
Answered-' The names of those who love the Lord.'' And is mine one?' said Abon.' Nay-not so,'
Replied the Angel. Abon spoke more low,
But cheerly still, and said,'I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellow-men.'
The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night
It came again, with a great wakening light,
And showed the names whom love of God had blessed,
And lol Ben Adhem's name led all the rest."
April 5, 1855.
The above beautiful lines so entirely convey our
27*




318           REPORT, 1855.
idea of humanity being the embodiment of the spirit
of religion, and the faith that speaks by works, that
we place it at the head of our report, as the exponent of our religion, of the faith that is in us-our
belief that manifestations of our love to our brother, our sister, are more pleasing and acceptable
to our heavenly Father, than rearing temples to
his praise, or oblations to his glory. The altar and
the temple will be mouldered by time into dust;
but the soul immortal, snatched from the defilements of sin, may become a child of God, and an
heir to everlasting glory. How noble, then, is our
work! how exalting, how inspiring, and how cheering is that faith, that reveals to us the Divine harmony of which we may form a part-that receives
bliss by bestowing benefits, and increases our treasures in proportion as we dispense to others. "Inasmuch as ye have done it to the least of these, ye
have done it unto me." In this simple sentence is
breathed the religion of Jesus; and just so far as
we have been able to live out this idea, can we realize his Divine humanity, and our own brotherhood
with him.
The past season has been one calculated to awaken
in every heart the germs of humanity, and call into
action all the sympathies of our nature. It has
even been a fashion to be benevolent, and in this as
in other fashions its votaries have mingled with the
crowd, made their obeisance to its behests, and then
turned again with equal zeal from the Calico Dress
Ball or the Dorcas Society, to the pursuit of any new
fantasy that presented. But in the cause in which
we are engaged there is no fashion, no excitement
dependent on times or seasons. The evils against
which we have been struggling are those which




REPORT, 1855.               319
spring from causes that lie deep in the bosom of
society at all seasons, and which, while they are
the prolific source of sorrow in thousands of families,
are subjects that require great moral courage to
speak of in social life, or introduce in an acceptable
manner before a religious community.
Many of our ministers in their teachings shrink
from the subject of licentiousness, and glance at it
only as a theme "unfit for ears polite," in such
generalizing terms, that if understood at all by their
hearers, is so classed with fashionable follies, that
the remarks pass without causing a moment's reflection. We have seen our grave divines sit in solemn
conclave, and resolve on the dismission from their
churches of those, "who whirl the light fantastic
toe," while that sin that pervades the ramifications
of society, destroying the morals and health of our
young men, bringing disgrace and misery to so
many of our females, sorrow and shame into so
many families, and the wreck of soul and body to
its victims, goes from age to age almost unrebuked,
and is considered a theme not to be discussed, and
scarcely alluded to. But does the warrior expect
to conquer by flight?  Can one of the greatest
evils of society be subdued by avoiding the subject?
Can we perform our duty to our fellow-beings by
passing lightly over the errors of one part of the
community, and discarding from our society and
our charities, the more feeble companions of their
misdeeds? It may be so, but it is not in accordance with our ideas of moral courage, or the dictates of humanity and religion.  We have not so
learned Christianity.
Seven years have elapsed since we first met in
the lecture-room of the Museum to form this Asso



320            REPORT, 1855.
ciation; the devouring flames have destroyed that
building, but we have reason to believe that some
of those who have been snatched from ruin through
the instrumentality of this Society, are among the
redeemed who will surround the throne of glory
forever. Five of our inmates have passed away,
to whom a cheering hope had been given, and several churches in our city claim as members, those
who once came as wanderers from virtue to seek a
shelter and the charities of their own sex at the
Rosine.
It is woman's mission thus to extend her hand,
her sympathies, her aid to woman. To her alone
can the penitent heart unTold truly its frailties, and
claim not only sympathy, but that enduring patience with its waywardness, that will bear and forbear, hope against hope, and conquer the froward
only by the affection it has inspired. We have
never met with more touching instances of gratitude
than some of those exhibited by different members
of our Rosine family. Those alone who have known
and witnessed the extreme degradation and reckless depravity that often follows the lapse from
virtue in woman, when she feels herself a hopeless
outcast from all that. is good and lovely in life, can
understand the change in her feelings, when, by
the magic touches of a few fleeting months she finds
herself transferred from a shameless participant in
the debasing revels of a house of infamy, to a peaceful, industrious resident in a respectable family.
Great indeed is the change to her. She cannot blot
from her memory the past; but the friendless one
is no longer friendless. There are those who are
interested in her well-doing, who would shield and
protect her from injury from others, and endeavor




REPORT, 1855.               321
to strengthen her to overcome the temptations and
weaknesses of her own perverted nature. They
have shown her that the avenues are open to her
still, not only to a reputable position in life, but
through redeeming mercy, to the society of the
blessed forever.
We cannot expect all who come under our care
to appreciate their advantages, or improve them as
they might. The impulsive, unreasoning disposition
that led some of them into wrong connections at
first, may bring them as applicants to our door, and
take them as changefully away; but there are
many who have prized their privileges, and proved
by their continued good conduct for a course of
years, that our toils and their struggles have not
been for nought. Since our last report, one of our
former inmates has been married; she is the fourteenth who has married respectably since leaving
the Institution; she was in the Rosine about three
years, and one year since left us to enter a tailoring
establishment, where three others of our girls were
located. Two of the four are now members of
churches, and we have reason to believe are consistent members. One of these was the mistress of a
noted house when the Rosine was opened, and some
of the first visits paid by our managers to houses
of bad character, were to her abode. She always
treated them with kindness and respect, but their
counsel appeared to make little impression. She
afterwards left Philadelphia, and opened a house
of the same kind in another city. There she pursued a flourishing career; but in this strange place,
where there were none to reprove or counsel, the
warning of Providence came to her. She dreamed
that she was dead, with all her sins upon her. The




322           REPORT, 1855.
lake of fire was before her, as her imagination had
pictured its horrors, and she thought she was compelled to enter it, and endure its burning torments
forever. Words could not express the agony she
endured as she gazed upon that glowing sea, and
exclaimed, " Can nothing save me?" There was no
one to answer; but she heard a voice which said,
"Nothing, but to go to Mrs. -," (who was one
of the Managers of the Rosine, who had visited her
in Philadelphia.) She gazed wildly around to see
from whence the voice came, and in the clouds
above beheld the face of her who had reasoned with
her in the days long past, and pleaded with her to
abandon the evils by which she was surrounded.
At this period she awoke from her dream; but the
impression did not pass from her mind. It continued with her from day to day, until she sold her
furniture, closed her house, returned to Philadelphia, and was received into the Rosine by the same
manager whose face she had seen in the clouds, and
who had been her mental companion from that
period.
Three years have passed, one of which was spent
in the Rosine. At this time she is residing as
seamstress in a respectable family, where she is
highly valued, and is a regular attendant of the
church to which she is united.
Within a few days we have seen two others of
our former inmates, who have both been occupying
the position of housekeepers in families, and are
members in good standing in their churches.
Another, who was considered almost a hopeless
case for some months after she entered the Asylum, continued an inmate nearly three years.
Since then she has resided in a family of professing




REPORT, 1855.              823
Christians, and for several months has been a Sabbath-school teacher, and a member of the Dorcas
Society of her church. She learned the tailoring
trade while in the Institution, and has had work
constantly from the same shop, even during the
dull season, when the generality of the hands were
unemployed.
These are cheering facts, and attest the influences that have been operating in the Rosine
House.
We have endeavored to avoid everything of a
sectarian nature in our Institution, leaving the
minds of our girls free to unite themselves, after
leaving us, to whatever society is most in accordance with their feelings. We have sought to impress them with the importance of truth and
honesty, —of living in the spirit of prayer, and
practising love and kindness one to another. We
have reminded them of the omnipresence of the
Deity, and his cognizance of every thought, word,
and action, and of their increased responsibility
from the knowledge thus presented before them.
To the ministers of the different denominations
who have attended our meetings, we are greatly
indebted. The seed sown in the Rosine House
has, in many instances, brought forth good fruit.
It is our part to labor with the ability that is
given. The blessing of the Father alone can ripen
the seed, and bring the increase.
Among other pleasing facts is that of the spirit
of economy and forethought displayed by some of
our girls, in their desire to accumulate something for
a future day. Two of them have had over one hundred dollars deposited for them by us, as they have
been able to bring us the savings from their wages.




324           REPORT, 1855.
To both of these girls the cells of the prison were
familiar before they came to the Rosine, and one of
them is still in the family who received her when
she first left the Association.
We have deposited for several others smaller
amounts, and find each year the number of depositors increasing. To those, through whose hands
thousands of dollars are passing, it would be almost
impossible to convey the idea of the increased consciousness of respectability of these women, by
having even a small amount, earned by their own
honest efforts, placed at interest. It is a stimulant
to increased exertion and economy. One of our
depositors, who attended the school regularly at
the Rosine while she was an inmate, and made
considerable improvement, is a domestic in a
family.  They have given her the privilege of
attending a school under the care of her church.
Her leisure hours are thus devoted to study; and
she appears indifferent to company, and to everything except her intellectual advancement and the
accumulation of an honestly-earned capital.
The school in the Rosine is still continued.
Many of our girls, particularly the younger ones,
are very desirous of improvement, and have made
considerable progress. They are generally anxious
to learn to write; but very few seem aware of the
importance of learning to spell, as they consider
writing a letter merely a mechanical operation.
One, who did not even know the alphabet, was
highly delighted with having a copy-book, and
tracing the characters placed before her, eagerly
inquired the meaning of every word.
We believed, when we entered into this work, in
the possibility of the reformation of women, and




REPORT, 1855.              325
now, after having been more than six years engaged in the cause, we consider we have many
proofs to confirm that opinion. We have paid
hundreds of visits to houses of immoral character;
we have entered the lowest haunts of drunkenness
and debauchery; the cells of the prison and the
wards of the almshouse are familiar to us; three
hundred and sixty inmates have been under our
care in the Rosine, and we still believe in the possibility of reformation, even when they have been
sunk in the greatest degree of degradation. We
do not mean to say that we can reform all these
women, but that in all the Divine principle has
been implanted; and that, if we could surround
them by congenial circumstances for a sufficient
length of time to develope the buried germ, and
warm it into activity we should find that in every
heart there is still the image of the Deity, and
desires and cravings after the good, the true, and
the beautiful. A touching proof of the continued
consciousness of better things was exhibited in the
reply of one, who had been mistress of a house of
bad repute seventeen years. Two of our ladies
visited her, and as they were departing, one of
them observed her looking at her with great earnestness, and said, "What are you thinking?"
She replied, " I was thinking how much joy there
would be in heaven when you get there, and meet
all the souls you have been the means of saving."
Seventeen years had,that woman lived in the violation of her convictions of conscience, and yet she
could picture in her mind the joyous meeting of the
redeemed amid the harmonies of heaven. It was a
passing thought; but her illuminated countenance
as she spoke, proved that she could appreciate the
28




326            REPORT, 1855.
reward of a life of virtue, though the habits of
years, and the weakness of her own principles, prevented her from aiming at the realization, in her own
case, of her glorious conceptions.
In a visit at another house of the same character, the ladies were endeavoring to persuade a
young creature to go to the Rosine, when she
turned to the mistress of the house and said, " If
you were in my place, would you go?" The person addressed, who was perhaps fifty years of age,
replied, " Certainly I would. Had I my life to
pass over again, a thousand worlds would not
tempt me to live as I have done!" What a lesson
was contained in that one sentence! Oh! that
every young girl, who stands trembling on the
threshold of vice, could have these words sounded
in her ears, and burned into her mind, till she
could never efface the impression of their warning.
A thousand worlds will not reward for a life of
sin; and she who makes the first wrong step,
knows not the circumstances or feelings that may
bear her on, with resistless force, until (if life be
spared) year after year may become a circling
round, marked alone by depraved associations and
unutterable miseries. A thousand worlds will not
repay the poor victim of vice for the agonies of
even one hour, when, keeping the benumbing bowl
from her lips, she allows herself to think. Then
come the rushing thoughts of her homelessnessher friendlessness-her shattered constitution-her
utter degradation-and, worse than all, that hopelessness, that closes forever from her view the pure
delights of virtue here, and hereafter.
Often in our visits to these unfortunates we have
said, "How do you feel, when you reflect on your




REPORT, 1855.              3Q7
present condition, and retrace the past, and look
into your future?"  "We dare not think," has
been the frequent reply. " No woman could lead
this life, if she allowed herself to think. She must
drown reflection, or she could not endure existence."  We have ofttimes also asked them: "In
what respect have you been benefited by the life
you have been leading? Have you gained happiness?" "No." "Reputation?" "No." "Health?"
"No."   "Have you money in the Savings Fund?"
"No."   "Have you a hope of heaven hereafter?"
"No."   "What advantages, then, have you received?" A world of misery has been frequently
expressed in the countenance, and in the deep
tones, as they uttered, "Nothing! nothing!"
In our Report of 1853, we spoke of a young
woman, whom one of our managers found in one of
those miserable places, up an alley in Baker Street,
where three young girls were living together without an article of furniture but, two yards of ragcarpet, a porter-bottle, and a candlestick. One of
these was a girl of respectable family, who, by a
train of misfortunes, had become an outcast, and at
the time she was discovered was barefoot and bonnetless, and without clothing, except the few articles on her person. She was taken to the Rosine,
where she remained about a year, during which
time she made a profession of religion, and her
relatives manifested (through our interference) a
willingness to acknowledge her, and treat her with
kindness.
Over two years have passed since that period,
and she is now in the bosom of her family, enjoying
the comforts of wealth and luxury. In a letter received from her a few days since, addressed to our




328           REPORT, 1855.
member who found her in Baker Street, she says,
"Let me thank you for the happiness I now enjoy.
Oh  how often I think of this day, and the one in
which we first met. I feel as if I could not be
thankful enough to our heavenly Father, for sending me so kind a friend as yourself. Upon my
heart is written the law of gratitude. Your lessons
of wisdom will I make the mottoes of my life.
" Remember me to Mrs. L., the matron, and all
who are interested in me, and beg them to ask for
me the blessing of heaven."
Various circumstances connected with our Rosine
labors, from time to time, bring under our consideration subjects, that seem important to be placed
before the notice of the community. During the
pressure of the difficulties arising from want of employment last winter, and since that period, the
quantity of young girls loitering about the streets,
or being nominally match or fruit merchants, must
have attracted the attention of all observers. Some
of us who have had opportunities of knowing the
fate that is usually consequent on such a vagrant
life in children, rarely see them thus misemployed,
without feeling as we pass them, that they are
doomed to sin and disgrace, and to perpetuate our
immoral houses, and pauper and prison population.
We have had girls in the Rosine, whose career of
vice commenced in this manner before they were
twelve years of age, and in such cases, little short
of a miracle can produce a reformation. One of
them, who had long been known to one of our managers, a bright, black-eyed girl, was lately received
into the Rosine.  Her mother once had three
daughters. She resisted the advice of those who
counselled her to place them in families, where




REPORT, 1855.                  329
they might be brought up rightly, and employed
them as venders of small articles about the streets.
The three girls, one after another, became the victims of vice, and the two elder ones have gone to
meet their misguided mother at the bar of judgment.
The youngest came late one evening to ask admission into the Rosine. She said she was utterly
friendless, and though the weather was quite severe,
had not slept beneath a roof for three nights. She
had hidden up alleys and under sheds, to avoid being
taken up by the police, while her wretched condition excluded her from even the meanest abodes of
vice. She was admitted, and upon examination
found to be literally a mass of vermin. Her clothing
was devoted to the flames, and for a week she was
raving with mania-potu. We hoped with returning
sense would come a consciousness of her degradation, and a desire for better things, but before a
month elapsed the cravings for liquor and tobacco,
and her old vagrant habits, revived, and she stole
away, to re-enter that career that has probably ere
this lodged her in the prison or the almshouse.
In the year 1850, our Managers presented the
following petition to Councils:
TO THE SELECT AND COMMON COUNCILS OF PHILADELPHIA.
GENTLEMEN:-The Managers of the Rosine Association,
impressed with the importance of guarding the morals of the
youth of our city, and believing that one of the most fruitful
sources of crime and exposure to temptation, is the vending of
articles through our streets by children, beg leave to suggest,
that some efficient plan be adopted for the suppression of this
growing evil among us. Most especially do we plead for the
little girls, that some steps may be taken to save them from
the ruin that almost inevitably follows the exposure consequent
upon such a course, and your petitioners ask, that such practices
may be prohibited by a suitable ordinance.
28*




330           REPORT, 1855.
Nothing, however, has been done. The evil has
been increasing, and the consequence must be a
proportionate increase of vice and immorality in
our community. Our only hope is, that our energetic Mayor may find or devise some law that may
reach such cases, and be the means of saving our
children from the temptations to which the depravity
or improvidence of their parents subjects them.
Our work room continues to be an object of great
interest and advantage.  Here many are found
busily employed, who, until they entered the Rosine,
had made little or no progress in the arts of the
seamstress. Some have said they had never made
a garment in their lives, many had never darned a
stocking, and to this utter ignorance of how to
work rightly in any department may be attributed
the ruin of some of our inmates, as they have not
been taught to aim at excellence, and therefore
were not calculated to fill any useful station in life.
Our worthy matron, by her judicious instructions
and good taste, aided by the beautiful work of the
stitching machine, has elevated the character of
that department, until we are prepared to say, that
the work accomplished at the Rosine stands unrivalled. The labor of teaching many of our inmates is a wearisome task, as, though they desire
to improve, and become neat and industrious, yet
idle and careless habits have so grown with them
that they have become a second nature, and until
principle can be engrafted upon them it is difficult
to inspire the energy that is necessary to promote
any great progress. Yet every year more work is
performed than in the preceding, and should the
time arrive that we may have a larger building for
our operations, we can then retain those who desire




REPORT, 1855.              331
to stay a longer period, and pay them a just reward for their labor.
Our plan has been, in receiving our inmates, to
stipulate that they should remain as apprentices
six months. After that period, if their services
became valuable, and they wished to continue in
the Institution, we have allowed them a satisfactory
compensation. Within the past year, $203 41 have
been paid as wages to inmates in the sewing department.
By a resolution of the Board, a few months
since, for various reasons it was concluded to change
the period of apprenticeship from six months to a
year. To women who have led a dissolute. life a
year of probation is not too long to wean them
from improper habits and associations, and accustom them to practices of industry and self-control, without which, on leaving the Rosine, they
must still be liable to the same temptations that
formerly led them astray.
A large proportion of the women who come to
us have been accustomed to deadening their sense
of shame, and the horrors of remorse, by resorting
to the inebriating glass. To these a year's seclusion
is highly important, not only to destroy the old
habits, but to create new ones, of a more useful and
elevating nature. In our teachings we endeavor to
impress them with the consciousness that they are
ever in the presence of the "all-seeing eye," that
they are weak and variable, and governed by impulse more than reason, and that he alone who gave
them life, can give them strength to resist temptation, and keep them in the better way.




332             REPORT, 1855.
From March 25th, 1854, to March 20th, 1855, the
number of garments made in the Rosine, for the
use of the family, has been  -  - -  - 810
For customers, including 289 shirts, 477 chemises,
41 quilts, 68 night-gowns, 78 dresses, 139 vests,
230 pantaloons, 700 sheets, 40 pillow-slips, 158
yards of embroidery, and sundry articles, amounting altogether to       -  -.. 3826
Total, for family and customers, -  -  -  - 4636
The crowded condition of the Rosine House prevents our receiving many who apply for admission,
and also excludes the introduction of other departments of labor, that might be productive of profit
and advantage. We can only have one work room,
and therefore must be confined to one species of
work, while the number who sleep in our chambers
is much greater than is conducive to health, and
our dining-room and kitchen, are entirely too diminutive for the convenience of the family.
In connection with our work room we must say a
few words more. To ladies who have been brought
up in the lap of luxury, whose pleasure and enjoyment it has been to order whatever their taste
may devise, it may be difficult to convey the idea
that a debt, which may appear a trifling affair to
them, may be of great importance in a family where
all that is not received for labor, must be solicited
from  door to door.  We desire to appeal to the
sense of justice and humanity of some of these
ladies, hoping their bills will be speedily settled,
and they will understand, in the future, that our
instructions to our Matron are, to deliver work
done in the Rosine only upon the payment of the
bills. It is a very unpleasant task to our Matron
to refuse to let the articles be taken from the House
until the work is paid for, but some persons are




REPORT, 1855.              333
either so forgetful, or neglectful, that this rule is
absolutely indispensable.
The late Dr. Elkinton (for some years an alderman), in a communication to our Board of Managers,
stated that he had frequent applications from women
who had been domestics in families, to institute
suits for the recovery of wages from their employers.
Similar complaints have come frequently to us, also
from those who are employed as needlewomen.
One of our former inmates, who goes out as seamstress into families, by the week, has a claim of six
dollars, for three weeks' sewing, against a lady,
who rides in her carriage, with every appearance of
luxury around her. This account has been standing nearly two years. A few days since the poor
girl called upon the lady, and stated to her that
she had been there very frequently for the money;
that another lady owed her eight dollars for sewing,
and several others smaller amounts, which she was
unable to obtain; and now, said she, my feet would
be to the ground, had not a friend given me an old
pair of gaiters. " Oh Mary," said the delicately
nervous lady, "do not talk so-I am not well, and
cannot bear it!" But no money was forthcoming,
and the seamstress may go barefoot, or get shoes
where she can, but she must not trouble the fine
lady with the story of her necessities.
Some time since we received a young woman, who
stated that she was an orphan, and had formerly
rented a room, and taken in sewing. It was only
by the closest economy and industry that she could
meet her expenses. On one occasion, she had been
busily employed on some work which occupied her a
whole week. Late on Saturday evening she finished
her task, and took it home, calculating to pay her




334           REPORT, 1855.
rent with the proceeds, and provide for the coming
week.
The lady examined the work, said all was right,
but she could not pay her for her labor. The unfortunate girl turned away to hide her tears. She
had tasted no food that day, and was without a
cent to procure any. Her landlady was pressing
for her money, and faint and dejected, she knew
not which way to turn. Indignation and grief, by
turns, possessed her mind, until a feeling of recklessness grew upon her, as she thought of her unrequited toil, and her struggles to earn an honest
living. Oh! (said she, in recounting the events of
that evening), had any one have given me but
12- cents, it would have saved me from ruin! I
had become desperate, and what have I been since,
but a blot in the creation.
If women would but reflect on the fatal consequences that may result from such culpable neglect
and injustice towards those whom they employ, they
would shrink from the survey of their own conduct,
and feel they have no right to engross the time or
labor of either seamstress or domestic, without a
positive knowledge of their ability and inclination
to pay their just demands.
An Irish girl was brought by one of our members from a house of ill-fame, who had lived with
a family from the time she came into the country,
without receiving anything but promises for wages,
until she was almost destitute of clothing. She
was then advised by some one to sue her employer,
and consequently lost her situation, and was without a recommendation to get another. On some
pretext she was defrauded of her wages, and wandered for several days from house to house, asking




REPORT, 1855.               335
in vain, for employment. She had no money to
pay the fee at an Intelligence Office, or to procure
board or lodging, and having no friends who could
give her a home, she sought a shelter at night
wherever she could find a place to creep in, and
for three days was entirely destitute of food. Almost sinking from exhaustion, as a last resort she
sold herself to prevent starvation, and remained in
the abode of sin two weeks, when she was found by
one of the managers of the Rosine, and taken to
the Institution.  That girl is now well and respectably married.
This subject of wages is one that demands, and
should receive attention. Who of us are willing to
feel that by our careless thoughtlessness another
individual may be tempted to crime; that by our
injustice the soul of a fellow-being may be sunk in
sin, and perhaps lost forever? Under such circumstances are they alone responsible? He who reads
their hearts and ours, alone can cast the balance.
Our Intelligence Office, for respectable females,
is still in operation, and has been the means of providing-homes and employment for 2492 women and
children.
The Temporary Home which sprang from the
necessity felt by our managers for a house of prevention, as well as one of a remedial character, is
still pursuing its course of usefulness. Its object
is to save the friendless and unprotected female, of
respectable character, who is thrown out of employment and a home, and furnish her with a safe shelter until a suitable situation can be procured for
her. This Institution has given a temporary home
to 297 persons within the last year, and provided
places for 5616 since the Home was opened.




336             REPORT, 1855.
Thus, through the instrumentality of the two
associations, 8108 women and children have been
placed in positions to maintain themselves honestly
and reputably.
Our friends may remember, that in February,
1854, the managers of the Rosine Association made
an application to the Legislature for an appropriation, and the following Act was passed:
AN ACT APPROPRIATING CERTAIN MONIES TO THE ROSINE
ASSOCIATION.
SECTION 1.-Be it enacted by the Senate, etc., that the sum
of $3000 be, and the same is, hereby appropriated to the Rosine Association of Philadelphia, incorporated April 11, 1848,
for the purchasing a lot, or erecting, or purchasing buildings
for the operation of the Association, Provided, That this Act
shall not take effect, until an equal amount shall have been subscribed by other responsible contributors, to said Association.
SECTION 2.-That the Councils of the City of Philadelphia,
are hereby authorized to appropriate to the said Association,
hereafter, any sum, or sums of money, not exceeding $3000,
in any one year.
Our friends in the Legislature were aware that
we owed a debt of twenty-eight hundred dollars,
and that if we received an appropriation of $3000,
which was the sum proposed to be given, it would
cover the debt, but not aid us materially in procuring a larger building. Therefore, the second
section was added to the bill, under the supposition
that we would immediately apply to our Councils
for the annual appropriation, which this Act empowered them to give us. The Act of Consolidation took place about the same period as the passage
of this law, and in the unsettled state of our city
government, it was not deemed advisable to present
our petition to Councils, until within the past month.




REPORT, 1855.              337
The subject is now before them, and we hope they
will fulfil the expectations of the members of the
State Legislature. About five hundred dollars have
been subscribed by different persons, to assist us in
raising the sum required to claim the appropriation
from the State, and a kind friend, of whom we borrowed $1500, to aid us in the payment of the
House we occupy, has given us $1000 of that
amount, for the same purpose.
Those only who have been beggars for seven
years, can understand how unpleasant it must be
for us to be forced to solicit contributions for the
support of an Institution, year after year. Yet, we
feel the same necessity for exertion, and even more,
than formerly. We are unable to receive many of
the women who apply for admission, for the want
of room; and our Treasurer, when the Matron has
needed flour, tea, coffee, etc., has ofttimes turned
from the empty treasury to the street, to collect
funds, before she could meet the demands for the
family supplies.
About four hundred women have been inmates of
the Rosine. They have generally come from immoral houses, the almshouse, or the prison. The
shelter and charities of the Association, are as
much needed as ever. We thank those who have
hitherto aided us, and must ask for a continued
support, while we hope, in some future day, to occupy a larger and more convenient building, and
receive a suitable income to support it.
Is there not some benevolent individual, whose
heart has been touched by the miseries of these poor
outcasts, who can, and will endow the Institution,
and thus entitle themselves to the blessings and gratitude of these, the poorest of the poor.
29




338             REPORT, 1855.
TREASURER'S REPORT.
The Receipts from March 23d, 1854, to March
20th, 1855, have been
From the work room,.. $1,319 65
Board of inmates,.14 00
Cash, donations and subscriptions,.  2,232 24
--- $3,565 89
EXPENSES.
Ground rent, insurance, gas and water rent,  $163 00
Family expenses, including fuel, salaries,
clothing, marketing, &c.,...  3,385 69
Cash on hand,....               17 20
--  $3,565 89
This amount of expenses includes $203 41 which has been
paid to inmates,for work, in the sewing department.
AUDITOR'S REPORT.
Having been duly appointed by the Board of
Managers of the Rosine Association, as a Committee to examine the accounts of our Treasurer,
Mira Townsend, we have attended to the duty assigned us, and found them to be entirely correct.
PRISCILLA I. HENSEY.
HARRIET PROBASCO.
March 10, 1855.
We stop the press to acknowledge the receipt of
$39 40, from the Relief Committee of the 13th,
14th and 15th Wards of this City, per two members of the committee. This sum came very seasonably, to enable us to pay for two barrels of
flour, for which we are indebted, and to purchase
another, which is now needed. A barrel of flour,
per week, is used in the Rosine House, the number
of inmates being now 44, but sometimes over 50.
Had we house-room and funds, we should probably
have a family of double the number, but at present
we are constantly forced to refuse admission to




THE YOUNG MERCHANTS.            339
applicants. This balance of the fund collected for
the poor, speaks well for the liberality of Spring
Garden, and the industry and thrift of her population.
THE YOUNG MERCHANTS.
About eight o'clock one morning we were told
a gentleman wished to see us in the parlor, who
declined sending his name. We found a very respectable-looking young man there, but a perfect
stranger. After the morning salutation he appeared
embarrassed about proceeding, and finally said, he
did not know how to begin his story, as he must
expose himself, to accomplish what he wished. He
was encouraged to proceed, and stated, that the
afternoon before (the Sabbath), he with another
young man, had gone to a house of bad character,
and while there, had met with a young girl about
seventeen years old, who had come only a week
before from the country, and had been lured innocently into the house, as she was seeking employment, and had been detained there. The young
man said, he had been exceedingly interested by
the tale'she so ingenuously told, and he inquired
if she wished to continue there? She replied, no!
But they tell me here, my fate is sealed for life.
He assured her it was not the case, and asked if
she would go to a situation in a family if he could
procure her one? She had seen so much deception
in the few days she had been in that house, that she
answered him doubtfully, but he desiring to know
her earnestness, said, "If you will go, I will find
you a home in a Quaker family.  " Then I will




340      THE YOUNG MERCHANTS.
go," said she unhesitatingly. Without reflecting on
the possibilities of the case, and urged on by his
zeal to save a young, beautiful, and artless creature
from what he knew must be a life of perpetual
misery, he made an engagement to meet her at
9 o'clock the next morning, in Franklin Square,
and take her to this Quaker family. When he left
the house, and began to think seriously about it,
he felt considerably embarrassed, and tried.' to
banish the whole affair from his mind. But all
night long it staid with him, and that sweet, innocent
young face still kept looking at him, and pleading
with him to save her, every time he closed his eyes
till sleep was entirely banished. But what was he
to do?  She had only trusted him on the faith of
the Quaker family, with whom ie would place her,
and he knew but one Friend's family in the city, and
they were old and childless people, and he thought
would probably have no sympathy for such a case,
and besides he could not bear to expose to them
his own misdoing. His mind was troubled, and
when the time arrived for him to go to his store the
next morning, he was as much in the dark as ever.
As he proceeded down the street, his eye rested on
the name on a door, and he remembered he had
seen the gentleman who lived there, and that he
wore the Friendly garb. But they were not acquainted. It was then almost eight o'clock, and
he had promised to meet her about nine. There
was no time to lose. He must break his word, and
leave her to endure all the horrors of a degraded
life, or expose himself to somebody. He paused,
but yielding to the better feeling, his hand was on
the bell, and in ten minutes he was relating the
story to one who was an utter stranger.  We




THE YOUNG MERCHANTS.            341
listened, and then asked if he knew us? "No!"
"Did thee ever hear any one speak of us?" "No!"
"Does thee know anything about the Rosine Association?"  "No!"  It appeared he knew nothing
about us, or our operations, and to our inquiries of
how he happened to call on us, he simply answered,
" He did not know where else to go." We told him it
was all right, and Providence had sent him, though
he came to us blindly, and putting on our bonnet,
we accompanied him to Franklin Square. We
sauntered there for some time, but the young girl
did not make her appearance. Taking the direction of the house, we then called for another manager Who was a Friend, and parting from the young
man, pursued our way there. On entering, we
found her in the parlor, and taking a seat on the
sofa beside her, told her, a gentleman had sent us,
whom she had promised to meet in Franklin Square,
and then inquired why she had not fulfilled her engagement? She said the other inmates of the house
had told her he was only jesting, and persuaded her
not to go. We assured her he was in earnest, and
had sent us for her, and asked if she would go with
us? She said she wished to leave, but could not
until the next day. In answer to our inquiries,
after some hesitation, she acknowledged the reason
she could not go, was; because a young man had
left his watch and gold ring with her, and she could
not leave until she delivered them to him. We
told her we would make an arrangement, by which
she could return them to the owner; and with this
assurance she left the house with us. We took her
to our own home, and leaving her there, went immediately to the young merchant's store, who
owned the jewelry. He was a stranger to us, and
29*




342      THE YOUNG MERCHANTS.
looked very much embarrassed when we asked if he
knew Emily -. He replied, "He had seen her."
We then mentioned our name, and number, and
said, she is at our house and wishes to see thee!
" Oh, I cannot go there!" he exclaimed, "I know
your Husband." We assured him Husband Should
not interfere, and made the arrangement to receive
him without the presence of any of our family. He
came. The young lady returned the trinkets, but
he urged her to keep the ring; we at once objected.
The ring could be of no use to her. It would only
be a badge of her dishonor, and would ever be a
painful memorial to her. After some plain remarks
to both of them, and portraying to her the consequences that would probably have occurred, had
she continued in the house where we found her;
we then represented to him, our ideas of the impropriety of his conduct, and appealed to his moral
sense for the condemnation. He said, no one had
ever counselled him upon the subject before. His
mother was an excellent, pious woman, and she had
always laid great stress upon integrity, and given
him a large allowance of pocket money, that he
might not be tempted to be dishonest. He had two
uncles, one a clergyman, and the other a physician,
both in high standing. " Did not thy mother," we
asked, "warn thee against improper associations, and
licentious habits, or thy uncles advise thee on the
subject of thy moral, or physical health?"  " No,"
he answered; " my uncles said,' Sam, you must be
a good boy!' and their counsel ended there. My
mother would have thought it very indelicate to
say a word upon the subject; so that I have been
left to take my own course without any restraint!"
"Does thee think it indelicate for me to talk with




TIlE YOUNG MERCHANTS.           343
thee?"  " Oh no! but my mother would not have
done it." HIe then said, the way he happened to
form the acquaintance with the young lady, was
thus: He and another young man were walking,
when they concluded to go into a cellar, and get
some oysters. They called for a glass of beer,
and then for a bottle of champagne, after which
they were ready for anything; and a proposition
was made to go to the house of Mrs. S —, and
they went; " but," he added, " I see the subject in a
very different light now, and I will give you my
pledge, that I will never enter a house of immoral
character again, unless I go for a good purpose!"
"I am glad to hear thee say so, but I would like
thee to give me the temperance pledge too." " I cannot do that!" he replied; " all the young men I know,
drink sometimes!" "If they do, does that make it
right?" "No! but young men generally take a glass
in company! I know it is a bad practice, and leads
many a one to ruin; but I suppose you will allow me
to take a glass of beer, or cider?" "I only wish to
refer thee to thy own story. You started to take a
walk, and the first conclusion was, to get a plate of
oysters. Then you called for a glass of beer; then
for a bottle of champagne, after which you were'ready for anything,' and the proposition was made
to go to the house of Mrs. S —, and you went. In
the first place, the practice of frequenting oyster cellars is a very bad one, and leads, as in this case, to
many an evil. The oysters led to the beer, the
beer to the champagne, and then you were' ready
for anything.'  Now, what is the consequence?
Thy character lies in my hands, and were I so disposed, I could ruin thy reputation. Then think of
this poor unfortunate girl. She (with many another),




344     TIlE YOUNG MERCHANTS.
is the victim of the glass of beer, and the bottle of
champagne. The stimulating glass excites other
evil passions, and the morals, the health, and the
happiness are all sacrificed. It is not only the poor
degraded girls who suffer, but many a man passes
through life with a ruined constitution, and entails
upon his offspring scrofulous and other diseases,
that result from the indulgence of vicious and ungoverned propensities. I have known the health
and happiness of whole families destroyed in this
manner, while the weakened intellect, and blunted
moral sense of the individual, showed the fearful
retribution that often follows deviations from the
path of virtue. But," we added, " we do not wish
thee to give us a pledge. Think of it for thyself,
and when ready, make thy vows to thy Heavenly
Father. He alone can give thee strength to keep
them." We continued thus in conversation, probably
an hour and a half, and parted, hoping we had
spent a profitable evening.
Though Husband was not permitted to be present,
of course we told him the whole story, and his surprise was great the next morning to see the young
Merchant call upon him at his place of business,
and request a private interview. He then narrated
to him the events as they had occurred, and the
conversation of the previous evening, and added, " I
never had anything to make so great an impression
on my mind. It has changed the whole course of
my ideas. I laid awake all night thinking of it,
and this morning it continues with me. I cannot
attend to my business, so I resolved I would come
and talk with you." They had a long talk, and a
serious one, and Husband gave such counsel as he
thought would be beneficial to the young man. He




THE YOUNG MERCHANTS.            345
found, like most young men, he had good and
kindly feelings, but he had not been taught to bring
his impulses under the government of his reason,
or the high and holy principles that would have
led him to lay every action upon the altar, and ask,
"Lord is it right in thy sight? I am professing to
be a Christian. Am I living in the purity enjoined
by thy law?" His mother, with false ideas of delicacy, had neglected to impress upon the mind of
her child the importance of purity of thought and
deed, and his uncles had not deemed it needful to
warn him against the dangers and temptations to
which the unguarded youth must ever be subjected,
in the heart of a large city.
A week passed away, and one evening the young
merchant called. "I have come," said he, "to
give you the pledge you asked for! I could not do
it then, but I am ready now."
But we have not forgotten Emily, poor child!
We kept her several days with us, and, upon learning her story, thought the best plan would be to
return her to her friends. We ascertained that
she had a sister, who was comfortably married, and
to this sister we resolved to consign the object of
our care.  We delivered her safely, and, for a
season, occasionally heard of her and saw her.
Three years had elapsed, when, returning from a
visit to the country, a woman in the stage attracted
our observation; and, after some conversation, we
discovered it was the sister of Emily. Of course,
we had many inquiries to make, and were informed
that Emily was well married, and living nicely, and
would be very glad to see and welcome her former
friend to her own house.
About the period of our hearing this pleasant in



346      THE YOUNG MERCHANTS.
telligence of Emily's marriage, we received another
call from the young Merchant who was the means
of our becoming acquainted with her. We had
taken an opportunity of conversing seriously with
him, on the impropriety and criminality of frequenting houses of immoral character, and found
him to be warm-hearted and generous, and desirous
of doing good to others, but not prepared to abandon
the evil practices himself, which he knew could only
bring misery in all its forms to the unfortunate victims of licentiousness. He came now to ask us to
go to another house of the same character, to see
another young girl, whom he had met the evening
before. We went, and found a young creature,
whose sweet, modest face claimed feelings of interest
from every one who looked upon it, and whose gentleness of manner, and lady-like deportment, bespoke her to be accustomed to polished and refined
society. -She told us the same story she had given
to him the evening previous. Her father was a
wealthy man, and lived in the country, some distance from the city. He had married a second
time, and her stepmother was disagreeable to her.
She, and a younger sister, had been a year at
boarding-school, and the time had nearly arrived
for them to return to the paternal roof, but her
aversion to her mother made her unwilling to reside
at home, while her mind had been corrupted by
some of her school associates, who had, through
pernicious books and improper conversations, conveyed to her the idea, that a life of dissolute liberty
was one of enjoyment, and her antipathy to be
under the home government, combined with these
false representations, made her resolve to leave the
school and her sister, and cast herself into the great




THE YOUNG MERCHANTS.             347
vortex of licentious depravity. Poor child! she was
but sixteen-her knowledge of life was confined to
the home circle until she entered that fatal school,
and she was totally ignorant of the wretchedness,
the falsehood, and the degradation of those with
whom she voluntarily sought to mingle. She knew
not that the midnight revel and the inebriating cup
were madly sought to drown the misery (whose
depths cannot be told) of the poor victims, whose
happiness she had heard so highly pictured, and
whose life she had imagined was one long dream of
love. Taking with her scarcely a change of clothing, she left the school, alone, and came to the city.
In the railroad car, she saw a colored woman, with
whom she entered into conversation, and asked if
she knew where there was a house of the description
she sought. Guided by this woman, she entered
the home of sin and wretchedness.
Scarcely a week had elapsed, when our young
merchant saw her, and became at once interested
for her. He drew from her this history of herself,
but more she would not reveal. The next morning
he called upon us, and, when we met her, she repeated the narration, but who she was, where she
came from, who were her friends, or what school
she had been at, she kept a profound secret.
But that one week had revealed to her the follies
and errors by which she had been misguided, and
she was prepared at once to go with us, as soon as
she understood our mission. We took her also to
our own home (as we have done many another, whose
errors or misfortunes we have wished to hide), and
kept her with us a few days. As she seemed desirous to conceal her history even from us, we
avoided making inquiries that might lead her to un



318      THE YOUNG MERCHANTS.
fold what she was not prepared to reveal, but we
pictured to her the miseries from which she had
escaped, and the downward course which is the
usual lot of those who enter on the road to ruin.
We told her some of the circumstances that had
come under our knowledge, connected with others
who had been led astray, and endeavored to impress
her with the conviction, that Providence, through
his agents, saved her from the dreadful fate that
must have been her portion, had she not thus been
snatched from a course of life that is revolting to
every feeling of delicacy, and depraving in all its
associations. We besought her to return speedily
to her school, and account for her absence in the
best manner she could, and to remember that her
father had a right to select whatever lady he thought
proper for his wife, and, if she could not give her
affection, it was her duty to treat her with proper
respect. Our own feelings were so deeply interested
for her, that we urged her, with all the earnestness
in our nature, to pursue the path of virtue, and return at once to her friends.
She had only been with us two or three days,
when, upon returning home after one of our collecting excursions for the Rosine, we found she and
her little bundle of clothing had disappeared.
She had promised us, she would rejoin her sister at
the school, and, doubtless, made use of our absence
to leave the house, alone, that we might not discover her real name, or the locality of her friends.
She had paid very dearly for her indiscretion.
May it prove a lesson, not only to her, but to
others, and may it have its influence in awaking the
minds of parents to their responsibilities, in regard
to the early instruction of their children, on the




REPORT, 1855.                 349
importance of moral and physical purity, and, not
like the young merchant's mother, avoid the subject from a false feeling of delicacy, and thus allow
their offspring to receive impressions from corrupting sources, thet may lead to\depraving associations, demoralized habits, and physical and spiritual
death.
Some months since, Husband went on an excursion to one of our flourishing inland towns, and,
upon his return, he told us he had met our friend,
Samuel --, the young merchant, for whom    we
had both felt so interested. " He is married now,"
said he, " lives in a fine house, and insisted on my
visiting there." They spoke of the circumstances
we have recorded, of the changes produced by the
conversation and events of one single evening in
the coloring of his life, and he exclaimed, "Mr.
--, your wife has been to me a guardian angel."
We feel somewhat abashed at repeating the expression, but do it, simply hoping, that it may encourage some timid heart to perform its duty.
REPORT OF THE MANAGERS OF THE ROSINE
ASSOCIATION.
Extract from the Constitution of the Rosine Association.
To secure from vice and degradation, a class of women who have
forfeited their claim to the respect of the virtuous-to prepare and maintain for them an asylum, which, by its system
of religious instruction, shall elevate their moral natureteach them how to gain an honest living "by the work of
their own hands"-and eventually to render ther useful
members of the community-an association has been formed
and denominated the "ROSINE ASSOCIATION," of Philadelphia.
30




350           REPORT, 1855.
October 25th, 1855.
President: Sophia Lewis, 119 Wood Street; VicePresident: Priscilla H. Hensey, 8 Marshall Street;
Treasurer: Mira Townsend, 220 Race Street.
Secretaries: Lydia Gillingham, 35 N. Fifth Street;
Anna Shomaker, 486 N. Sixth Street; E. Louisa
Carr, 440 N. Fourth Street.
Managers: Mary Murphy, N. W. corner of Twelfth
and Arch Street; Martha Wilson, 19 Clinton Street;
Elizabeth Diament, 20 Wister Street; Rachel Child,
104 Arch Street; Sarah J. Webb, 244 Green Street;
Mary Thain, 95 New Street; Elizabeth Carr, 440
N. Fourth Street; Eunice Tolman, West Philadelphia; Harriet Probasco, corner 6th and Wager
Streets; Ann L. Rogers, Cherry, 2 doors west of
15th Street.
Physicians: Drs. John D. Griscom, Henry C.
Child, Hannah E. Longshore, Jane V. Myers,
George Truman, James Pearce.
The return of the beautiful season of autumnal
fruits and flowers brings us again together. Some
of us have remained at our field of labor throughout the summer, but our members generally have
inhaled the genial breezes that are wafted over hill
and vale, invigorating the system, and renewing the
capacity for extended usefulness. But these rural
pleasures have not been enjoyed by our Rosine
family. Many of them in life's early spring have
gathered the daisies and buttercups in the luxuriant
meadows, and strolled beside the purling streams in
all the careless happiness of childhood. They may
visit the eountry again, but to them life can never
wear the sunny garb in which innocence clothed it.
The glorious orb may shed his rays as brightly;
the flowers may blossom with as rich perfume; the




REPORT, 1855.              351
rill may flow as gently; its soft murmurings may
rest upon the ear, telling the tale of its birth amid
rocky clefts, and of its wanderings through leafy
dells; yet, to her who has strayed from the path of
virtue, in whose soul the poisoned arrow is resting,
the full cup of enjoyment can never be handed, even
by bountiful Nature. The streamlet will speak of
its purity, the flowers of their innocency; not reproachfully, but in the foamy bubbles of the rivulet, in the dew-drops that spangle the opening
blossoms, in the note of the bird that carols its
joyful anthems, there are feelings awakened that
cluster their smothering influences around the heart,
and vibrating through the brain, bring the one
fatal remembrance, and the unuttered exclamation,
" I am not as thou art!"
The benumbing qualities of the inebriating cup
and the ever-present consciousness of degradation,
may deaden the.sensibilities of the unfortunate victims of vice, and create an apparent apathy and
indifference towards the good and the beautiful, but
the Divine impress planted in every bosom still lives
within them; and as the sparks of virtuous desires
and self-respect are rekindled in their minds, their
appreciation of the true, the good and the beautiful,
revives; and though the cloud still must rest upon
their spirits, and the showers of grief ofttimes bedew their pillows, yet, as they learn to live the true
life, they can rejoice in that Divine beneficence that
followed them into their low estate, and has opened
a path for them (as for the prodigal) to return to
the Father's house. The memory of the past cannot,
will not die. It is the penalty for transgression;
yet so tempered is mercy with judgment, so universal is the feeling that God is good and his mercy




352            REPORT, 1855.
endureth forever, that though the penitent may
feel that every man's hand has been against her,
yet can she acknowledge that for her also the flowers bloom, the streamlets flow, the birds carol their
harmonious lays, the sun shines, and the rain and
dew bestow their blessings; and that she, too, in a
degree can appreciate and enjoy the harmonies of
nature and the beauties of the creation around her.
Among our inmates are many who are yet in the
early spring of life, on whom the spoiler has laid
his hand, but whose sensibilities have not been
deadened by intercourse with the vicious, or whose
habits of intemperance have dimmed their aspirations after the pure enjoyments of the higher life.
These cases awaken the deepest interest, as we contemplate the position into which a misstep has cast
them, and the fatal consequences arising from it,
casting a shadow over the whole future life. Man
may err equally, the same crime may stain his soul,
and in the sight of his ever-present Judge, his guilt
may be of a far deeper dye, yet society is so lenient
to his transgressions that he scarcely meets reproval, and rarely loses his social position in the circle
in which he moves. The stamp of hifamy that is
placed on woman's brow, if she be tempted from
the path of virtue, and the hopelessness of ever
regaining the world's approving smile, deprives her
generally of the capacity to struggle, and the energy
to overcome the discouraging circumstances that
bind her to the racking wheel, which at every revolution sinks more deeply its poisoned shafts into her
soul. But the libertine, who led his victim (often
unsuspectingly) into the web which he has woven
to ensnare her, turns from the foul dishonor he has
heaped upon a young and trusting heart, and




REPORT, 1855.              353
emerges from the dark path of ruin and the glorious temple he has desecrated, to receive from those,
professing not only morality, but religion, smiles
and words of welcome to what ought to be the
sacred sanctuary of virtue, the domestic hearth,
where the daughters cluster, and the sons' expanding
minds should learn the lessons of a holy purity.
Case after case of this nature presents itself before
us. A very short time since, our newspapers related the history of one, a lovely young girl of
seventeen, who had been persuaded to leave her
secluded home, some miles from the city, with one
whose respectable standing introduced him to her
father's fireside (that of a wealthy farmer), where,
with the serpent's tongue, he lured the only daughter from her mother's arms, and brought her here,
professing love and honor, and in one short week
abandoned her, to hide her shame amid the more
abandoned. In less than two months, she was
brought in a state of inebriation (with others whose
names are linked with infamy), before a magistrate,
who learned her story and sent her to our care.
The cloud has passed over her. She may return to
her father's house and make the acknowledgment,
" I have sinned before Heaven and in thy sight!"
but for her no fatted calf will be killed, no rejoicing
that the lost is found. She is a woman, and society
will not acknowledge that her stains can be washed
away; while he who thus wrecked the happiness of
a young and guileless girl, and brought sorrow in
that once blest home, retains his position in an
honorable profession, is a welcome visitant in respectable families, and again may woo and win the
lovely and the pure.
Were it proper, we could cite other cases of
80*




354           REPORT, 1855.
recent occurrence, where our pity and condemnation of the unfortunate girl has been mingled with
feelings of indignation against the seducer, and of
regret that some of those who make a religious profession admit unreservedly such persons into their
homes, and the society of their sons and daughters,
who are not prepared to excuse the erring female,
or admit her among the circle of their friends.
We seek not to palliate crime, or lower the
standard of the virtue to be required of woman, but
we desire to place the subject before our friends in
its true bearings, and ask that justice and mercy
may be accorded to both man and woman, that
each may occupy their proper position, irrespective
of sex, and that the woman who strives to regain,
by her appropriate conduct, the approbation of the
good and reputable, may receive the helping hand
and the " God speed thee!" from all those whose
privilege it may be to aid in this, the work of
angels; for surely, there can be no higher mission
given than that of Jesus, who came to save the lost,
and whose memorable words were, " Go, and sin no
more."
In the records we have received of Jesus, we find
no fear of compromising his character or dignity by
associating with any, however low their condition.
Satisfied with the purity of his own mind, and his
desire to do them good, he walked fearlessly, while
those who based their reputation on their society,
exclaimed, "Behold, he eats with publicans and
sinners!" As the precepts of Christ become better
understood, and his mission appreciated, and men
and women are more imbued with his spirit, there
will be less need of "Rosine Associations," and individual duties will be more faithfully performed.




REPORT, 1855.              355
Since we wrote the last sentence, we were called
to a gentleman who came to ask us to visit a young
girl he had met in a public place, whose history he
had partially learned.  She is an orphan (the
daughter of an intemperate man), brought to poverty
by the misconduct of her father. She came to the
city to seek employment, and is now living with a
family. With the natural instincts of youth for
social life, she has sought in her leisure hours the
leafy shades of one of our public squares. There
she has occasionally met with a young man who
wears the garb of a gentleman, but whose profligate
conduct disgraces his respectable lineage. Ignorant
of the world, and unsuspecting of the wily tongue
of the flatterer, the Christian brother who called on
us justly estimated her danger, and felt that by our
interference and counsel she might be saved. She
will probably never appreciate his precaution or
our feelings of interest, for she suspects not the
deadly mine that is under her feet, nor the treachery
that may lure her to irreparable ruin. Within the
past two weeks we have visited two houses of immoral character, with the hope of saving two young
girls, who, like the one above alluded to, had left
their rural homes in the hopeful buoyancy of youth,
to seek more remunerative employment in the city.
Like her, they formed acquaintance with "the
stranger," and their homes are among the unfortunate and degraded.
Some time since, a police officer claimed our attention to a young girl. She, with a friend, both
of them eighteen years old, and just out of their
apprenticeship, came from the neighborhood of
Pottsville, with the hope of higher wages than they
could get at home.




356           REPORT, 1855.
The day after they arrived, they walked around
to see the city, and entered Franklin Square.
While gazing upon the beautiful fountain, and expressing their admiration, they attracted the attention of two men,'who fell into conversation with
them, and learned they were strangers, and the object of their coming to the city. With an appearance of the greatest kindness, they informed the
unsuspecting girls that they knew two ladies who
needed their services, and would employ them, and
offered to conduct them to the promised places. On
leaving the square, they separated, and of the
history of one of these girls we have no farther
knowledge. On the records of the prison or almshouse her name may most probably be found. The
other was taken to a low boarding-house by one of
the men, and introduced as " his cousin from the
country." She speedily saw she was entrapped,
and confided her story to one of the girls of the
house, who informed the policeman who came to
us. The case was immediately attended to. The
young woman was brought out of the house, and
placed under the care of one of our ladies, who in a
few days sent her back to her friends. It was ascertained that the man was well known to the police,
and had been a convict.
When we opened the "Rosine Iouse," it was
with the belief that the benefits of the Association
would not be confined to the inmates there, but
that the feelings that prompted the formation of
the Society, and opened the doors of the "Rosine"
were latent in other hearts, and, as opportunity
presented, would spring into life, and show themselves in deeds of virtue, and prove that goodness
and benevolence are everywhere, and only await




REPORT, 1855.              357
the moment and opportunity of development. It
has been the general opinion that woman's heart
was more seared against her erring sister than
that of man; but when we look into the cause of
this apparent coldness, we find it in the position
in society in which woman has been placed. She
has been the dependent on man, and though many
men have chosen to associate with women of doubtful character, yet they have rarely been willing to
be accompanied by their wives, daughters, or sisters,
and have even desired a veil thrown over such associations.
Women, therefore, who wished to claim the
golden opinions of their male friends, and saw that
they visited such persons in privacy, and spoke not
of these communications in the home or social
circle, naturally imagined that the society men were
ashamed to acknowledge was not exactly proper
for them; and hence they have turned from them
with coldness and aversion.  But the Christian
woman, standing upright on that base where Jesus
stood, fears not to do the right, and nobly dares to
go where duty calls, or, when opportunity presents,
take the unfortunate wanderer by the hand, and
aid her as she may, either physically or morally.
It is emphatically woman's duty to aid the cause of
woman. Man may feed, and clothe, and convey
religious instruction, but woman's tongue must
speak the words of sympathy and encouragement.
Woman's mind and efforts must prepare for and
procure the employment absolutely needful to maintain steadily the tottering mind, that scarcely believes in the possibility of its own restoration to a
respectable position, and requires a heart full of
love, and faith, and hope, and patience, to sustain




358            REPORT, 1855.
it, and bear with its weaknesses, its waywardness,
and its despondencies. When our inmates leave the
"Rosine," and enter the various situations that
may open for them, we feel that our work is not
accomplished, but that we ought still to be the
friends, the confidants, the counsellors, ever ready
with word and deed to aid their necessities as best
we may, and strengthen them to meet wisely the
discouragements that must occasionally encircle
them.
From the nature of the business engagements of
men, and from the delicacy and sympathy needed
in such cases, women are naturally better qualified
and prepared to fulfil this important and holy
mission.
We hail the advance of public sentiment respecting woman's duties and privileges, and feel
that the day- is past in which she must turn from
her erring sister, as from a thing accursed, in order
to maintain her own reputation. In this respect
the "Rosine" has accomplished a great work. It
has proved that the pure in heart may safely enter
the abodes of iniquity, and feel that the mission
there is acknowledged by God and man. It has
proved that woman can, and in many cases will reform, if the circumstances around her are such as
to inspire a hope that her efforts and aspirations
can be crowned with success. Some of those who
were once " Rosines," but are now filling important
and respectable situations, feel that the day of
miracles has not passed. When they recollect the
degradation in which they were once immersed, and
contrast that period with the present-when they
remember their alienation from all that was good,
and their outcast condition, and see themselves now




REPORT, 1855.             359
surrounded by kind hearts and true ones, they can
scarcely realize at times that any train of circumstances could produce so great a change; and
the utterance frwa their lips has been in mingled
tones of wonder and gratitude. One of those who
left the "Rosine" three years since, and has been
situated very advantageously, lately left the establishment in which she was located, because the
conduct of some with whom she was associated was
not entirely correct. " I feel," said she, " that I
need the society of the good and elevated, and fear
that my principles might be weakened by being in
company with those whose conversation has a
downward tendency." Another, who is at the head
of the female department in a large manufactory,
where she receives six dollars per week, lately came
to one of our Managers, to consult her relative to
making a change in her place of boarding. She,
too, felt the importance of improving society, and
the disadvantages that might result from associating
with such companions as she might be liable to meet
in a common boarding-house. " You are," said she,
" the only friends to whom I can come for counsel."
This feeling of our continued interest and protection we have found in many cases to be a great
safeguard to our girls; and the thought of what the
ladies would think, or how they would feel, has
operated to produce beneficial results, and an increased responsibility.
Our work department has proved an efficient aid,
not only in a pecuniary way, but from the advantages resulting to our inmates, by qualifying many
for situations as seamstresses, whose impaired health
and other circumstances would prevent them from
engaging in active domestic avocations. Were the




360            REPORT, 1855.
" Rosine" considered merely a workshop, and our
inmates expected to remain for a series of years
after they had acquired sufficient knowledge to
make them valuable, the Institution might probably be maintained by the labor of the family. But
the reformatory influences have ever been considered of the first importance, and the labor as one
of the necessary adjuncts to qualify for present and
future usefulness. The object has never been to
retain our girls in the Institution after they were
prepared to go into the world and support themselves, but that the Rosine House should be a
school where the weak, the ignorant, and the erring
might be instructed in everything good and useful,
applicable to their situations. We find many who
enter the Rosine are ignorant of the simplest
duties of life. Some tell us they have never made
or mended a garment, and these must be taught as
children, and perhaps never make sufficient improvement to be put upon customer work while in
the Institution, therefore their labor is only profitable to themselves-in the increased happiness they
enjoy from  continued occupation and the knowledge acquired, which qualifies them to earn the
bread of honest industry.
The number of garments made in the past year,
from October 1st, 1854, to October 1st, 1855, has
been:
For the use of the family,            854
For customers, including 337 shirts, 398 chemises,
83 night-gowns, 44 dresses, 95 collars, 64 wrappers, 281 pillow-cases, 173 bolsters, 520 sheets,
and sundry articles, amounting altogether to  - 2600
Total, for family and customers,  - -3454
Beside the articles made, there has been 115




REPORT, 1855.              861
yards of embroidery worked, 681 button holes
made, and 356 yards of stitching done for customers.
When we consider the ignorance and idle habits
of many of those who come under our care, arnd
the patience necessary to be exercised in their progress towards improvement, we feel there is cause
for congratulation on our success in this departpartment.
We have generally about half-a-dozen girls who
have served the appointed time in the house, and
wish to remain there, whose services are considered
worthy of compensation, both as a teward and encouragement. To these we pay $1 per week, which
enables them to provide their clothing, and, after a
season, deposit something in the Saving Fund. One
of these has now $24 deposited for her. Two girls,
who have been living at service, have each deposited
over a hundred dollars.  One of these is still
living in the family to which she went upon leaving
the Institution. We have deposited for her $140.
We can ask no better proof of the good conduct of
these women, than the fact that they continue for
years residents of the same family, and are accumulating a fund by their honest industry. One of
our former inmates was lately married. She had
lived four years in the same family, and had won a
character which will surround her with friends in
the rural home to which she has been removed.
The business of the household department, comprising cooking, washing, ironing, etc., is all done
by the inmates, affording thus a school in which
they are taught the practical operations of a family,
and prepared to be useful in whatever situations
they may be placed. The neglectful habits in which
31




362           REPORT, 1855.
many young girls grow up, and the want of judicious, systematic training to qualify them to fulfil
their duties, is a fruitful source of the difficulties
that lead them into an abandoned life. Many of
the daughters of the poorer classes of society,
through a mistaken pride, are kept at home under
the influence of improper examples and associations,
and without the domestic teaching that would fit
them for industrious usefulness. As they approach
womanhood, they become dissatisfied and ungovernable, and are then frequently hired by the week into
families. But the idle, careless habits generated at
home usually prevent them from retaining their
situations; and:the frequent changes produce an
unsettlement that is detrimental to the moral character, and prevents that close application to business habits without which no one can hope to succeed. Among our inmates, there is always a large
number who have been left orphans early in life,
and have never experienced parental care or a
mother's judicious training; while another portion
have been the offspring of those who have degraded
themselves by inebriation or other evil habits, and
have thus cast around their children a noxious and
pernicious atmosphere. We have had in the Rosine,
at the same period, a mother and daughter, both
equally degraded; and, in a late prison visit by one
of our managers, she found there the mother of a
very interesting girl who had been twelve months
in the Rosine, and who had herself formerly been
several times a prisoner. On six different occasions, two sisters have been inmates at the same
time, and, of one family, we have had an aunt and
four of her nieces, all sisters. They were from the
South, and had grown up in ignorance and poverty.




REPORT, 1855.              363
The beauty of their persons contrasted sadly with
the barrenness of their minds, and the pride that
made them shrink from honest labor, proved the
laxity and injudiciousness of the parental training.
One after another as they dawned into womanhood
they became the prey of the spoiler. Of these, one
has gone to render her account to Him, who sees
and knows the weakness and temptations of His
children, and judges not as man judges. Another
passed a year in the Rosine, and, since that period,
has filled a position in a wealthy family, that is
honorable to herself, and satisfactory to her employers. She has been for a year or more a member
of a church, that numbers among its communicants
two others of our former inmates, one of whom is
married to a worthy and respectable mechanic.
We have spoken in our Reports of our contracted
domestic arrangements, of our small dining-room,
kitchen, and yard, of our crowded chambers, and
our " one room," which is in turn the inmates' parlor, work room, and church. We have also stated,
that, with the hope of procuring a larger and more
convenient building, into which we could welcome an
increased number of the unfortunate and erring
ones, we applied to the Legislature, February, 1854,
for an appropriation to aid us. This was granted
on certain conditions.
AN ACT APPROPRIATING CERTAIN MONEYS TO
THE ROSINE ASSOCIATION.
SECTION 1.-Be it enacted by the Senate, etc.,
that the sum of $3000 be, and the same is, hereby
appropriated to the Rosine Association of Philadelphia, incorporated April 14,1848, for the purchas



364           REPOROT, 1855.
ing a lot, or erecting, or purchasing buildings for
the operation of the Association: Provided, That
this Act shall not take effect, until an equal amount
shall have been subscribed by other responsible contributors to said Association.
SECTION 2.-That the Councils of the City of
Philadelphia are hereby authorized to appropriate
to the said Association, hereafter, any sum, or
sums of money, not exceeding $3000 in any one
year.
Our friends in the Legislature knew we owed a
debt of $2800 on the house we occupy, and that
an appropriation of $3000, which was the sum proposed to be given, would only pay that amount,
without enabling us to effect the desired purpose.
The second section was therefore added, authorizing
the City Councils to give us an annual appropriation of $3000, with the idea, that, with this assistance, the friends of the cause of humanity would be
stimulated to aid us in raising an amount that
would locate the Association in a larger and more
convenient building, with an income sufficient to
support the Institution without the continued beggary to which we have been subjected.
In consequence of the unsettled condition of our
City government, we did not make application to
Councils, until April, 1855, when we presented a
petition in accordance'with the above Act of the
Legislature. The embarrassed condition of the
City finances operated to prevent Councils from
donating the amount allowed by the Legislature,
but they granted an appropriation of $1500, for
which we received a warrant a few days since-to
be paid when the City is in funds.




REPORT, 1855.                365
A friend, whose heart and purse are ever open to
the unfortunate, gave us $1000 toward the $3000
required to be subscribed to obtain the legislative
donation, $500 was subscribed by other individuals,
nearly all of whom are our annual contributors,
which makes the amount required to obtain the
State appropriation.
We are thus enabled to fulfil the conditions, and
shall place the funds, when we receive them, at interest, until a sufficient sum  is raised to make it
prudent to proceed in whatever manner may be
deemed advisable towards procuring more extensive
accommodations.
We have still a debt of $1800 remaining on the
house we occupy, $1300 of which is on a groundrent. We should be unwise, in our present circumstances, to attempt either to buy or build, and thus
involve the Society more deeply in debt. But we
hope the day is not far distant, when a sufficient
fund may be raised to warrant us to make arrangements to rear a mansion, sacred to Mercy and
Virtue.
TREASURER'S REPORT.
The receipts from October 1st, 1854, to October 1st, 1855, have been:
From the work room, -  -  - $1,266 95
Donations and annual subscriptions, 2,505 94. —.. —— $3,772 89
EXPENSES.
To balance due October 1st, 1854,  $373 47
To ground-rent, insurance, gas,
and water-rent, -  -  -    165 00
Family expenses, including fuel,
salaries, clothing, marketing, &c., 3,122 51
-   3,660 98
Cash on hand, -$111 91
31*




366'IREPORT, 1855.
Under the head of Salaries, we ought to note,
that $184 75 was paid to inmates, who are working
for wages, all of whom have been over a year in the
Institution.
We desire to acknowledge the reception of $50
from T. W., of Baltimore, also $30 from "a Lady,
in another State."  These tokens of 4he interest
felt in the cause of humanity, by persons at a distance, is an evidence of their appreciation of our
efforts, and of the progress of that fraternal benevolence that is not confined to any location, but
extends its sympathies, unasked, to the unfortunate
and erring.
We also wish to present our thanks to our contributors in money, goods, or labor. The cause is
yours, as well as ours! We are your agents to do
what you cannot do! to use your means to effect a
great result! with your aid to maintain a Home,
where the erring and unfortunate may come to seek
the protection and counsel they need from their own
sex, and that training that may prepare them, after
a season, to re-enter the world under those favorable auspices that may lead them into the enjoyment of a higher life than perhaps they have ever
known, and open to them the pathway to eternal
glory.
We cannot present you the history of any wonderful achievement-all we can expect to accomplish must be gained by slow and patient efforts, by
the exercise of love and kindness, and by that faith
that constantly remembers
" That drops of water turn the mill.
And also, that




REPORT, 1855.               367
"One by one the stones are laid,
By which the massive arch is formed;
And one by one the tints were made
Which Raphael's heart, and pictures warmed."
We cannot show you our work! We wish to hide
it! We cannot show you our children! We do
not want you to know they ever were ours. We want
you to meet them in the field of useful labor, without a knowledge that they ever were otherwise than
they now are. We hope we shall all meet them in
Heaven, where their frailties, and ours, will be remembered no more.
More than four hundred women have been inmates
since the house was opened.  Could we turn to
many of them, and show their present condition,
their respectability and usefulness, and the propriety of their conduct, our friends would feel with
us, that we have not labored in vain.
Our Intelligence Office at the Institution, for respectable females, is still in operation. We desire
to call the attention of our friends to that, and also
to our work room. Two thousand five hundred and
eighty-six women and children have been provided
with homes and employment from the Office. How
many have been saved from ruin, by its agency, we
cannot tell.
Our members and contributors will please pay
their subscriptions to the store-keeper, at the Rosine
House-the treasurer, Mira Townsend, 220 Race
Street, to either of the managers, or to our collector, Priscilla Nicholson.
The Annual Meeting is held on the first Thursday in April.




36            REEPORT, 1855.
FORM OF A BEQUEST OF PERSONAL ESTATE.
I give and bequeath to the Rosine Association of
Philadelphia, and their successors, the sum of
dollars, towards promoting the objects of said Society.
FORM OF A BEQUEST OF REAL ESTATE.
I give and devise to the Rosine Association of
Philadelphia, or their successors, all that (here
describe the property), together with the appurtenances, to hold to the said Rosine Association of
Philadelphia, and their successors, forever, for them
to dispose of and convey in any manner which will
promote the objects of said Society.




BLACK EYES.               369
BLACK EYES.
E. and myself had been at an Alderman's Office
to endeavor to procure the release of a woman we
had found in the prison the day before, and were
going to another Alderman's, about another woman,
when we went up - street, and intended to pass by
a house of bad character which we had visited some
weeks previously, but when we came to the step, a
beautiful little girl two and a half years old, stood
in the door. It was the child of Emma! Poor
Emma. She was the daughter of a respectable
farmer in Bucks County, who perfectly understood
the nobility of wealth, but had small sympathy for
lovers without it. Emma was only sixteen, but she
had fallen in love, or imagined she had, with a young
painter, who had come to renovate the old building
with his brush and paint-kettle, and surely, there
seemed to be magic in that brush, or in the eyes
that watched and directed its operations, for they
wove a destiny for Emma she had little foreseen or
dreamed of. We cannot enter into details, but the
father banished the young painter from the house,
and the daughter ran off with him, expecting to be
married, but they were not. In the course of a few
months the lover deserted her and shipped to California, and she sought a shelter in the house of a
married sister, who received her unwillingly, but
permitted her to remain, subject to the daily taunts
and reproaches which mortified pride heaped upon
her. When her babe was a few weeks old she left
the unwelcome shelter, and with the infant in her
arms returned to her father's house.* She hoped
that he would receive her, and even if he banished




370            BLACK EYES.
her from his heart, would allow her the protection
of his roof. But there was a home for her no longer;
she was harshly repulsed, and with her wailing babe
she turned from  that door with whieh all her
cherished memories were entwined, and received
that denial that doomed her to be an unsheltered
wanderer. She came to the city, supposing she
could find some employment, and went from house
to house making the inquiry. But there was not
one willing to receive a girl not seventeen, with a
babe in her arms, whose respectable dress and appearance bespoke the lady unused to labor, and she
passed from door to door faint and wearily, till hope
seemed to die within her, and she was ready to sink
from exhaustion. In this condition she entered a
house, and made the oft-repeated inquiry. They
told her they had no work; but they saw she was
young and attractive, and they offered to take her
as a boarder. It was a house of immoral character.
Doubtless there was a struggle of the keenest anguish in her mind. She had never erred but once,
and sadly indeed for that was she paying the penalty.
But then she had no home. There, one was offered.
Of the horrors of that abode she had no conception.
She staid. We became acquainted with her and her
history some time afterwards. As the babe grew it
became very beautiful, and the mistress of the house
learned to love it, while the mother looked upon it
as the cause of her trouble, and felt it a burthen.
Some months passed away, and a contract was
signed by that unfortunate mother to give her innocent babe to the mistress of a noted house of illfame, to grow up amid all the debasing influences
of the society clustered around her.
Emma married, and went to live in New Jersey.




BLACK EYES.               371
We have never seen her since, but the child remained,
and this was the little adopted one that claimed our
attention, and put out its little hand to speak to us,
and said " Come in and see my mother!"  We were
hurrying along, feeling we had not time to stop, but
the child enticed us, and we could not resist its artless invitation. We entered, inquired of the mistress of the house for Emma, and then plead with her
to give us the child. She said she could not part
with it, but gave us her hand to seal her promise,
that if she died first, we should have it.
During our conversation with Mrs. H., we made
our observations on the company present. Three
young men and one girl sat at a table playing cards;
three other young men and two girls were sitting
there. They were all strangers to us. We inquired of the mistress what had become of all the
girls we had formerly seen there, sometimes 15 in
number. She replied, they are nearly all dead!
And where are all the girls we used to see in the
houses about here, three or four years since? "All
gone!" said she. We asked after several by name;
she had not seen them for some time! Probably
they had died in the prison or almshouse! "And
where is that beautiful little Harriet we tried to
save?"  "Oh she died last week of small-pox in Ball
Alley. She was taken sick here, but when I found
it was small-pox I sent her away. You know I
can't have sick people here!" Harriet was a bright,
beautiful girl of sixteen, innocent and fresh from
her country home when she first entered that fatal
house. Three years had passed away, and all the
fruits of her degradation had been gathered by the
mistress of the house, and she had been cast into
Ball Alley to die, without a friend to smooth her




372            BLACK EYE S.
pillow or offer a word of consolation or hope in her
last struggling agonies. "' There are but two or three
girls left in the neighborhood of all those you used
to see in your visits here," said Mrs. H.
We had been in seventeen houses of the same
character in that one quarter of a square, all of them
tenanted by young girls, usually several in each
house, and in this short period of time all were gone
but two or three. Here was the testimony of one
engaged in this horrid traffic of souls and bodies,
and who was still living on the miseries and degradation of her own sex. Could but the voice of
warning be sounded and fall upon the ears of the
young and innocent throughout our country; could
they be made sensible that the probable consequence
of deviations from the path of virtue was a degraded
life of shame, and a death of misery in the prison,
the almshouse, or Ball Alley, would they not turn
with horror from every temptation, and shudder at
the fearful gulf in which one misstep might involve
them!
From this conversation with Mrs. H., we turned
to the persons sitting in the room, and made some
remarks to each of the girls, in t!e hope of awaking
the conscientious feelings which we knew could only
be sleeping within them. The one at the card-table
seemed considerably affected, and asking a young
man to take her place, arose, and seemed desirous
to explain her circumstances to us. She heartily
condemned the life she was leading, and acknowledged an attachment to a young man whom she
could not abandon, but hoped the day was not far
distant, when she could return to the path of virtue.
As we addressed each of them, we presented one
of our printed Rosine letters, and told them we




BLACK EYES.               373
were members of the Society, and considered it a
part of our duty to visit such houses, and endeavor
to save the unfortunate girls; but we did not feel
that our mission was confined to them, but that it
was equally our duty to strive to benefit the young
men whom we might meet there. One of the young
men at the card-table refused to receive our document, and held back his hands when we offered it;
but we urged him to receive it, assuring him it would
not hurt him. " I have read enough of these things,"
said he, "and of the Bible too."  " I have read the
Bible through three times," said another youth at
the table, "but it never did me any good!" "Ah,"
said the first one, whom we will designate as Black
Eyes, for they were dark, bright, and intelligent,
"I know the Bible from one end to the other, but
there are some parts of it I do not believe to be
true. The Book of Job, and some other parts, are
only fables." "Well," said we, " even supposing they
are not true, what then! Have not each of you a
conviction in your own minds that tells you what
is right, and teaches you that frequenting such
houses as this, and playing cards, and drinking, and
all other evils, are wrong? And even if we admit
that the story of Job is an allegory, written for
the benefit of a past age, is it not full of instruction, and may we not be strengthened by its perusal?
We have read the Bible too, and believe it to
have been of great use to us." Black Eyes shook
his head, and added, " I once believed it, but I do
not now."   He then quoted the passage where
Michael and the Archangels are spoken of, and
other parts, showing his familiarity with its pages.
It would have been of little use to discuss the truth82




374            BLACK EYES.
fulness of the Bible then, therefore we avoided it
as skilfully as we could, and endeavored to draw
their minds to the practices produced by the religious sentiment, instead of cavilling about doctrines
or beliefs. One of them said, he would like to be
religious, but he did not know how! We told him
there was one brief sentence, that whether he believed in the Bible, or not, would explain the whole
duties of religion; and as he brought them into
practice, perhaps some of the passages that now
seemed unsound to him would become truths, and
be revealed to his mind, and become a living Gospel
to him. This sentence was,
A Cease to do evil, and learn to do well."
By abstaining from the first part, he would soon
learn to practise the latter, and when he ceased
from doing evil, and learned to do well always, he
would know all about religion; but he could never
understand it while he frequented such houses,
and indulged in the immoral habits consequent
upon it.
Black Eyes remarked that he believed in spiritual communications. We inquired if he believed
in the constant presence of spirits? He said he
did.  We then asked if his mother was living?
He replied both of his parents were dead. "Were
they religious people?" " They were!" "Of what
society?"  "Methodists."  "Was thee brought up
a Methodist?"  "I was!"'"Was thy mother a
good woman?" " She was?" " Suppose then her
spirit is watching over thee, how must she feel to
see her son here, in this place, in this company?"
He was willing to leave this question without
reply, and commenced talking about Paine and




BLACK EYES.               375
Voltaire, and their opinions, seeming to have been
puzzling his brain about creeds and theories, while
he was living in violation of the purity they inculcated. We advised him to lay aside all these books,
and occupy his mind with other subjects than metaphysical speculations, for it was evident that he
was not in a condition to be benefited by them,
and had given way to a scepticism that had loosed
even the moral obligations to his mind. We gave
him our views of the beauty and simplicity of religion. We were all the children of one Father, whose
ear was ever open to hear our supplications for
knowledge and wisdom, and who, as we endeavored
to obey the impressions of duty made upon our own
minds, would enlighten our understandings to see
and know what was right for us; and if we lived in
the simple fulfilment of these obligations as they
arose before us, we believed the wisdom would be
given, that would benefit us more than the study
of creeds and doctrines, that ofttimes have a tendency to bewilder the mind, and fill it with controversial speculations.
The whole company appeared to be interested in
the conversation.  The card-table was removed,
sand nearly all those present joined, in an animated
manner, in the discussion of the moral and religious
duties. None had sinned through ignorance, and
no one endeavored to exculpate themselves. The
girls evidently felt the ban of society had been placed
upon them, and though they were not prepared to
abandon their present position (through their attachment to the men with whom they associated),
yet they all hoped the day might come that they
might return to a virtuous life.




376            BLACK EYES.
After spending an hour or more thus conversing
we said, we hoped none of them would forget this
conversation, as there was food for reflection in
many of the remarks that had been elicited. Our
interview with them had been altogether accidental,
apparently, as we had not intended to stop there,
but we now believed it was providential, and we
hoped the time would yet be, that they would all
be prepared to come to us, and say, that from this
hour they had never entered an improper house, or
been guilty of an immoral action; and this young
man (laying our hand upon the shoulder of Black
Eyes, who was seated next to us), we hope to see
some day in the pulpit. The remark was unquakerlike, but we made it, and a thrill passed through us
as those large, dark eyes were raised and fixed upon
us with a painful earnestness, as if trying to read
our innermost thought, but no word was uttered.
Some minutes afterwards he desired to speak with
us aside, and then said, "You told me you hoped to
see me some day in the pulpit. " I have been there!"
" How, as a minister, a preacher?" "Yes," he replied, "I have! I was stationed two years in Illinois,
and I have been two years near this city." " Tell us
then," we asked, "was the Bible a true book to thee,
then?" "It was!" "Were thy sermons from the
convictions of thy own spirit, or were they like a
parrot's chatter, by rote?" " Oh!" said he, mournfully, "they were, they were! Religion was a
truth to me then! It was an improper connection
with a female that causedmy ruin!" "How?" said
we; "did she lead thee astray?"  " We were both
wrong," he replied; "but I will come and see you.
I wish some further conversation with you!" We




BLACK EYES.              377
gave him our name and number, desiring the impressions of that hour might continue with him, and
grow and ripen, until as a "brand snatched from
the burning," he might again be able to stand as a
pillar in his Father's house.
The mistress of the house was in the room the
principal part of the time we were there, and listened attentively, though she did not join in the
conversation, and as we bade her adieu, she said, "I
will endeavor to get out of this way of living as
soon as I can," and we have since understood, that
her husband and she have moved to another house,
and are now living privately.
In this manner we have had many conversations
with young men whom we have met in these houses,
and in some instances have had reason to believe
the opportunity has been blest to them, as they
have called upon us afterwards, and expressed their
gratitude for our friendly counsel. One young man
who called two or three times to see us, married
some months afterwards, and brought his wife to
introduce to us, relating to her with a great deal
of feeling the history of our first interview.
We passed from the house of Mrs. H. with the
impression that we had been sent there, and that
the baby girl had been the angel appointed to invite us in. How little we know the agencies around
us that impel us to make our resolutions and intentions as things that were not. We had felt when
we arrived at the door that we had not time to stop
a moment, yet we had staid an hour and a half,
and departed with our hearts filled with gratitude
and wonder, as we retraced our own past lives, and
the occurrences that have schooled and prepared




378               BLACK    EYES.
us for our mission, to the prisoner, the outcast, and
the depraved. Solomon's desire, is truly ours-for
wisdom-that wisdom that cometh from above.
The wonderful, the beautiful,
Are marked on all around,
In floating clouds-on changing earthWithin the teeming groundBorn in the crystal flakes of snow,
And in the rays of light,
Living in falling drops of dew,
And in the eyes of night.
The wonderful, the beautiful,
Are in the flower and tree,
Are on the mountain, in the vale,
And o'er the waving seaAre in the thought, and in the hope
Of gay and sunny youth,
And in the eye and on the lip
Of bold and honest truth.
The wonderful, the beautiful,
Fill up the earth and air;
They picture Heaven in our souls
With beams of light from there.
But he hath power surpassing all,
Around-or far-or nearWho, clothed with love for all mankind,
Creates a Heaven here.




CONCLUSION.              379
CONCLUSION.
We have arrived at the last page of our book, and
feel that, perhaps, a few more words are needful, by
way of explanation. We hold a spring and autumnal public meeting, and at each present a report of
the year preceding that period. Our reason for
making each an annual report, is this-part of our
contributors get the pamphlet published in the
spring, and others the one in the autumn, and
when we meet our friends, we like to tell them all
we have been doing the past year. And now we present the history of eight years. Momentous ones
they have been to many individuals, who, through
the agency of the Rosine Association, have been
saved from the path of destruction, and stand as
monuments of Divine mercy.
In regard to ourselves, we can offer no apology
for intruding upon our friends, but the simple truth.
We are weary of the beggarly life we have been
forced to lead, to sustain the Rosine House; and,
like the drowning man catching at a straw, we
thought if we could send a little messenger into the
world, that could talk for us, and perform our begging, and stimulate those who were able to put their
hands to the work, and join with the noble men and
women who have stood by us and aided us year after
year, that perhaps there might come a season of
greater retirement, when we could have leisure to




380             CONCLUSION.
attend to some other duties that are pressing upon
us.
Are we reaching after straws? Let that be as
it may, we have not amused our friends with fancy
sketches; we have given them not only Reports, but
realities-solemn truths.
THE END.