-
Hark Back With Love (review)
- Quaker History
- Friends Historical Association
- Volume 60, Number 1, Spring 1971
- pp. 57-58
- 10.1353/qkh.1971.0009
- Review
- Additional Information
Book Reviews57 she did not consistently do so. Consequently the author (following Mrs. Gummere ) has not done so. He is also misled by Mrs. Gummere in stating (p. 38) that Woolman's marriage is "noted only as an afterthought in the final folio." Actually Woolman noted it in the preliminary holograph, which Mrs. Gummere mistook for his final one. On p. 84 the author refers to A Pleafor the Poor as consisting of twelve sections. At this point he was led astray by some other edition, as the Gummere edition is one of the two which contains all sixteen sections. An error appears on p. 136, where the London Yearly Meeting is said to have taken its first public notice of slavery in 1772; actually it issued an indictment of the slave trade in 1758. A misinterpretation of Woolman's Journal is found on p. 45. As evidence of the progress made by the Virginia Yearly Meeting of 1757, Woolman referred to the query: "Are there any concerned in the importation of Negroes or buying them to trade in?" rather than to the query about prize goods, which the meeting did not apply to the slave trade. At least ten minor errors slipped by the proofreader of the present volume, including the date 1766 (p. 28), and the substitution of "protest" for "profession" in a quotation from William James (p. 131). While these minor imperfections should be noted, they do not negate the value of the book as a generally sound and perceptive introduction to Woolman. Adrian CollegePhillips P. Moulton Hark Back With Love. By Frances Richardson. Philadelphia: Dorrance & Company. 1970. 205 pages. Illustrations. $4.95. Frances Richardson draws a picture of her childhood in the 1890's in such faithful detail that the quiet life of a Philadelphia Quaker family of that time is brought vividly to life. When she was orphaned along with two brothers and two sisters they all went to live at Chestnut Glen, Byberry, with their four aunts who sacrificed some of their quiet elegance to raise the five children. She affectionately writes of the family estate and of her intense interest in every flower, bird, and farm animal. Even the household chores are described and the dedication of the aunts who were determined to educate the children to the best of their ability is so devotedly told that the title of her book seems particularly appropriate. These were the days of kerosene lamps, horse-drawn carriages, Swiss musicboxes , and home made medicine. "Aunt Ruth Anna . . . made the quinine pills herself using the ancient apothecary scales with tiny brass weights." She also kept them "aware of what was going on in the heavens" but it was Aunt Sally who nursed them, did the cooking, gardening, made their dresses, and alerted them to eclipses. Frances mentions many of the songs they sang, the books Aunt Sally read to them and tells of the innocent games they played. She also writes of the various 58Quaker History Friends Schools she and her brothers and sisters attended and names some of thenteachers and a great many Friends who were prominent in the yearly meeting. The present generation which has missed the fun and discipline of the days of Magic Lanterns, busy-bodys and wish-bone dolls, when Evening Bulletins cost Ic, movies a dime, might not have the nostalgic interest of those in her own age bracket. "We grew up healthy people and good citizens, in spite of sorrows and frustrations that nowadays are supposed to cause complexes and to result in warped and unhappy lives." These words of hers justify a reading of her book. Moylan, PennsylvaniaKatherine Hunn Karsner ...