Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1865-10-12
Notice Of Henry David FhOFeau--.-A
Unique and Noteworthy Parsonage.

Unique and Noteworthy Parsonage.
This remarkable man of genius and of
eccentric habits died at Concord, in Nav,
1862. He was pure lover of nature
Ralph Waldo Emerson says of him: " He
was bred to no profession he never mar
ried he lived alone; he never went to
church; he never voted; he refused to pay
a tax TO the State he ate no flesh; he
drank no wine; he never knew the use of
| tobacco; and though naturalist, he used
neither trap nor gun. He chose wisely,
no doubt, for hiWself, to be the bachelor of
thought and of nature. He had no talent
for wealth, and knew how to be poor
without the least hint of squalor or inele-
gance. Perhaps he fell into his way of
living without forecasting it much, but ap-
proved it with later wisdom. i am often
reminded he wrote in his journal, that if
l had bestowed on me the wealth of Gree
sus, my aims must still be the same, and
my means essentially the same He had
no temptat ions to fight against-no appe-
tItes, no pa ssions, no tastes for elegant
triles. A fine house, dress, the manners
and talk of highly cul tivated people were
all thrown away on him. He much pre-
ferred good Indian, and considered these
rehnements impediments to conversation,
wishing to meet his com panions on the
simplest terms. He did not like the taste
of wine, and never had vice in his life.
When asked at the table what dish he pre-
ferred, he answered: 'The nearest"
He chose to be rich by making his wants |
few, and supplying them himself In his |
travels he used the railroad only to get /
over so much country as was unimportant |
tn tle lorasanf lattr1,osa 1vulIinc-
of miles, avoiding taverns, buying a lodg-
ing in farmers and fshermen's houses, as
cheaper and more agreeable to him, be-
cause there he could better find the men
and the information he wanted.
In 1859 he built himself small frame
house on the shores of Walden Pond, and
lived there two years alone, life of labor
and study. He lived at about the rate of
one dollar per week. No opposition or
ridicule had any weight with him.
He could find his path in the woods at
night, he said, better by his feet than his
eyes. He was good swimmer, runner,
skater, boatman, and would probably out
walk most cOuntrymen in days journey.
He liked and used the simplest food, yet
when some one urged vegetable diet,
fhoreau thought all diets very small
HdlJef, saying InaJ - tne man VINO SHOOTS |
The buffalo lives better than the man who
boards at the Graham House
Whilst he used in his writings and con-
Versation, sometime, a certain petulence of
remark in referee to churches or church.
men, he was a person Of rare, tender and
absolute religion, person capable of any {
by act or by thought. {
His senses were acute, and he remarked ,
hat by night every dwelling house gives
ut bad air, like slaughter house.
"Thank God, he said, "they cannot cut
own the clouds. All kinds of figures are g
rawn on the blue ground with this fibrous
White paint
The country knows not yet nor hardly
n the least part, how great son it has
ost. His studies required longevity. No
me can finish his task But he, at least,
5 content. His soul was made for the
oblest society; he had, in ashort life, ex-
austed the capabilities of this world;
wherever there is knowledge wherever t
here is virtue, wherever there is beauty, /
e will find home
|