Letters from Susan

In this fourth installment of a popular series, “Susan” writes her friend “Mary” and describes the various conditions that brought girls to the Lowell mills, from family necessity to personal restlessness. Susan also gives some advice for her friends back home as to whether they should join her in the mill. She urges Mary to think of what she would be leaving at home, before venturing into the often cold-hearted world of the mill. Ultimately, she “cannot advise [her] to come” but does advise her friend Hester to come since Hester is more acquainted with harsh living conditions.

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