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222
A New England Girlhood, Outlined from Memory (Beverly, MA)
·
Lucy Larcom
181
The
"Operatives'
Magazine"
and
the
"Lowell
Offering"
were
united
in
the
year
1842,
under
the
title
of
the
"Lowell
Offering
and
Magazine."
(And--to
correct
a
mistake
which
has
crept
into
print--I
will
say
that
I
never
attained
the
honor
of
being
editor
of
either
of
these
magazines.
I
was
only
one
of
their
youngest
contributors.
The
"Lowell
Offering"
closed
its
existence
when
I
was
a
little
more
than
twenty
years
old.
The
only
continuous
editing
I
have
ever
been
engaged
in
was
upon
"Our
Young
Folks."
About
twenty
years
ago
I
was
editor-in-charge
of
that
magazine
for
a
year
or
more,
and
I
had
previously
been
its
assistant-editor
from
its
beginning.
These
explanatory
items,
however,
do
not
quite
belong
to
my
narrative,
and
I
return
to
our
magazines.)
We
did
not
receive
much
criticism;
perhaps
it
would
have
been
better
for
us
if
we
had.
But
then
we
did
lot
set
ourselves
up
to
be
literary;
though
we
enjoyed
the
freedom
of
writing
what
we
pleased,
and
seeing
how
it
looked
in
print.
It
was
good
practice
for
us,
and
that
was
all
that
we
desired.
We
were
complimented
and
quoted.
When
a
Philadelphia
paper
copied
one
of
my
little
poems,
suggesting
some
verbal
improvements,
and
predicting
recognition
for
me
in
the
future,
I
felt
for
the
first
time
that
there
might
be
such
a
thing
as
public
opinion
worth
caring
for,
in
addition
to
doing
one's
best
for
its
own
sake.
Fame,
indeed,
never
had
much
attraction
for
me,
except
as
it
took
the
form
of
friendly
recognition
and
the
sympathetic
approval
of
worthy
judges.
I
wished
to
do
good
and
true
things,
but
not
such
as
would
subject
me
to
the
stare
of
coldly
curious
eyes.
I
could
never
imagine
a
girl
feeling
any
pleasure
in
placing
herself
"before
the
public."
The
privilege
of
seclusion
must
be
the
last
one
a
woman
can
willingly
sacrifice.
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