Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1871-06-07
FANNY FERN ATHOME.
A Glance at the Domestic Life of
Mrs. James Parton.

l. Mrs. James Parton.
From the Boston Chroniclel
Like her writings, Fanny Fern i
brusque and blunt, and says her sa,
without regard to whom she is hitting
Yet underneath this brusqueness anC
bluntness there isa tenderness and rea
affection, care for those who are il
any way dependent on her, a generous
kindness to those who, struggling to at
tain foothold in life, come to her either
for sympathy or advice. She remembers
too well what she had to endure before
she came to her present position, for
care and poverty we're her close com.
panions at one time, and it was under
their combined pressure that she won
her reputation and rendered herself in
dependent.
A cosier home one never could wish
to visit than hers. A pretty brown-stone
front house, on East Nineteenth street.
New York, not large, but just large
enough for the family who inhabit it, is
her home. Everything about the house
speaks of culture and an artistic woman S
dainty care. Pretty pictures on the
wall, statuettes around the room, flow
ers almost always in the vases, and ivy
trained carefully over the deep windows.
The echo of a child's voice is almost the
first sound heard, and peeping slyly into
the room is lovely little girl, with large
soft, hazel eyes and wonderful brown
curls. This is little Ehie, the pet OF
the house, Mrs. Parton's grandchild, the
child of her dead daughter. A dainty,
delicate little thing she is, with look Of
her dead mother in her eyes, and with
her pretty, willful ways, she rules the
entire household. a
Following closely in her wake is, usu-
ally, her grandmother. Her face is fa-
miliar to a good many Bostonians, and
those who have seen her once will recog-
nize instantly the little, slender, auburn
haired woman, who comes forward so
genially to give them hearty, pleasant
welcome to her home. That is, if the
call is made at the right hour, for there
is an established rule in this house that
at certain hour of the day, its mistress
must not be disturbed, and if Victoria
herself favored the mansion with visit,
were it out of regular visiting, Mrs.
Parton could not be prevailed upon to
leave her work and go down stairs to her
visitor. 1t is this habit of regularity
that has made her able to do so much
work and give her the reputation for
punctuality which she enjoys Now her
duties are not onerous; one or two short
articles a week for the Ledger are all,
but she keeps her habits of regularity
and gives the time that she formerly
gave to greater amount of work. But,
working hours over, and guests ad-
mitted, she is the brightest and most en-
tertaining of hostesses She carries the
vivacity of her writing into her manner,
and rs witty and sprightly to a degree
that drives younger women quite wild
with envy. She is an inimitable story
teller, and has very fine powers of
mimicry.
The only other member of the family
is Mrs. Parton daughter, bright young
lady, like her mother in many things,
but not in looks. She has the same vi
vacious manner, and has a wonderful
faculty of entertaining people. She is
not all literary, from pure contrari-
ness, she avows herself. There must
be one private individual in the family,
and | choose to be that one, is her IA
vorite answer when any one asks her
why she does not adopt her mothers
profession. Altogether it is most
charming family and most delightful
home. All won, too, by the indomitable
courage and perseverance of the woman
who stands at its head