The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-11-02
Mrs. Horace Greeley.

| Eli Perkins of the New York Commercial
Advertiser gives the following interesting
sketch relative to Mrs. Greeley:
Mrs. Greeley was born in Litchfield C0un
! ty, Ct, 1914. She was somewhat younger
than her husband, who was sixty-one on the
Sd of last February. Her maiden name was
Mary Young Cheney.
In her youth she came to New York and
| established a school, boarding at the Graham
| House, where she frst met Mr.. Greeley. He
was then conducting the Neoc Yorker. Their
acquaintance ripened into affection, and they
were soon engaged. Mr. Greeley and Miss
| Cheney were married July 5, 1886, in War
reI.ton, n c., where she was engaged in
| children living-Miss Ida and Miss Gabri-
ellie.
Mrs. Professor Youmans told me last win
| ter that Mrs. Greeley was once very beautiful.
| For years she has been an invalid. During
| her life she was always eccentric, showing
| spells of stoicism, and then love and kindness
| to Mr.. Greeley. She was a woman Of iron
| willard Spartan endurance.
''Was she like Mr.. Greeley" 1 asked.
eyes, there was great similarity. They
were well mated. She was full of new ideas,
and brave enough to carry out any theory
which she believed to be true, even against
| the whole world. She entered into all of Mr..
| Greeley's cold water and vegetarian theories
with zest worthy OF Roman mother. Mr..
| Greeley tells even now, with great pride, with
| what Spartan stoicism Mrs Greeley used to
preside before company at their simple Ora
hamite meal, when he was running the NeW
| Yorker, in 1885,"
| "How do you mean?'' inquired.
"Why, neither Mr.. nor Mrs. Greeley ate
meat or drank tea or coffee. Their diet con-
SISTED of Graham bread ,boil,d beans and salt,
and cold water and Mr.. Greeley often anus
ed us by telling how Mrs. Greeley acted when
she had friends to visit her from the coun-
try"
''How was that?"
''Well, she would set her little table with
Graham bread, milk, beans, salt, and water,
and when they all sat down she would never
apologize, or even explain anything, but talk
verv intelligently, and leave the dinner to ex-
plain itself.
sometimes said friend of the family,
''Mr. Greeley used to suggest to Mrs. Greeley
that some explanation ought to be made to
the visitors, but she would look up very
seriously, and say No, Horace, what is good
enough for us is good enough for them,' The
result was Mr.. Greeley used to say, laugh
ing, that people who came to stay week
generally stood our vegetarian diet about two
DAYS, ard never repeated the visit till COM
PEELED to. They were never tempted back
again by rich living"
During all Mrs. Greeleys sickness Mr..
Greeley has watched over her with patient
devotion. Sometimes during past years she
has been very queer in her notions, but he
has never fretted or chided her.
"What were Mrs. Greeley's pecuarities ?''
T asked an intimate friend of the family
esShe had an iron will, and often took it
into her head to carry out certain radical
ideas at any cost. Once" continued the
friend. IT went up to Chappaqua to spend
Sunday. Mrs. Greeley had two goats at the
station, and she thought no one could drive
them to the farm but Horace, so he, to
humor her, walked the whole distance, and
drove them in. She was the soul OF honor
and integrity, and would never submit to
dishonest or tricky action on the part OF any
one else. During that ride from the station
to the farm, she inquired of the driver his
price, and, when she found he wanted to take
dollars advantage of her, she refused to pay
it, and we all got out and walked the rest of
the distance
Sand Mr.. Greeley?"
why. after while, in he came with the
goats. He neither smiled at the idea, nor
complained about the long walk. In fact. in
his treatment of Mrs. Greeley, and her eccen-
tricties, he is the best man | ever knew. He
never forgets himself, but waits on her with
ali the devotion of young lover Indeed.
there is something grand in Mr.. Greeley's
devotion to his wife. He says he had hard
work TO get her, that he married her for love,
and that he shall always love her-sick or
we'll"