Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-07-26

Of Emerson's house, burned on Wednesday,
contributor to the CLONES OF American Au-
thors" gives the following sketch
at is a plain, square, white dwelling house,
vet it has a city air. and could not be mistaken
for farm house. In the year 1928 Charles
Coolidge, brother of J. Templeman Coolidge,
a merchant of rcpute in Boston, and grandson
of Joseph Coolidge, a patriarchal denizen Of
Bowdon square in that city, came TO Concord
and built this house. Gratefully remembering
the lofty horse chestnutS which shaded the city
square, and which, perhaps, first inspired him
with the wish to be Il nearer nelghDor OF
woods and fields, he planted row OF them
along his lot, which this year 1852 ripen their
twenty-6fth harvest. With the liberal hospi-
tally of a New England merchant, he did not
forget the spacious cellars of the city, and, as
Mr.. Emerson writes, She built the only good
cellar that had been built in Concord.
'Mr. Emerson bought the house in the year
1885. He found it plain, convenient and thor
oughly built country residence. An amiable
neighbor of Mr.. Coolidge had placed miserable
old barn irreguarly upon the edge OF that gen
tleman's lot, which, ior the sake OF comelIness,
he was forced TO buy and set straight and smooth
into a decent dependence of the manslon-house
The estate, upon passing into Mr. Emeson's
hands, comprised the house, barn and two acres
of land. He has enlarged house and barn, and
the two acres have grown to nine. Our author
is no farmer, except as every country gentleman
is vet the kindly slope from the rear OF the
house to a little brook which, passing to the
calm Concord beyond, washes the edge Of his
land, yields him at least occasional beans and
peas or some friend, agriculturally enthusiastic,
and an original Brook farmer, experiments
with guano in the garden, and produces melons
aud other vines with success that relieves
Brook farm from every sur OF nadeqate practi-
cal genius. Mr.. Emerson has shaded his orig
inally bare land with trees, and counts near
hundred apple and pear trees in his orchard,
The whole estate is quite level, nclnlng only
toward the little brook, and Is well watered and
convenient.
"The Orphic Alcott,-sr Plato Skimpoe, as
scendental history of New England, designed
and with his own hands erected a summer
house, which gracefully adornS the lawn, if |
may so call the smooth grass plot at the side OF
the house. Unhappiiy, this ediice promises no
| long duration, not being technically based and
| pointed This is not strange, although a dis
agreeable fact, to Mr.. Emerson, who has been
always the most faithful and approaching OF the
| lovers of Mr.. AleOtt. II is natural that the
| 0rphic Alcott should build graceful summer
| honses. There are even people who declare that
| he has covered the pleasant but somewhat misty
lawns of ethical speculation with thousand
such edi6ces, which need only to be little more
technically based and pointed TO be quite per-
feet. AT present, they whisper, the wind blows
clean through them, and no figures OF flesh and
blood! were even seen t1tTe, DuJ only pdulu
phantoms with large, calm eyes, eating uncooked
grain out of baskets, and discOursing in a sub
lime shibboleth of which mOrtals have no key
But how could Plato Skimpole, who goes down
to bingham on the sea, in New England Jan
uary, clad only in a suit of linen, hope to build
immortal summer houses.
"Mr. Emerson's library is the room at the
right of the door upon entering the house. 1t
is simple square room, not walled with books
like the den of literary grub, nor merely ele-
giant like the ornamental retreat of Diettante,
The books are arranged upon plain shelves, not
in architectural book cases, and the room is
hung with few choice engravings OF the great
est men. There was a fair copy of Michael An
gelo's 'Fates,' which, properly enough, i'm
parted that grave serenity to the ornament OF
the room which is always apparent in what is
written there. 1t is the study of a scholar. All
our authors published writings, the essays,
orations and poems, date from this room as
much as they dale from any place or moment.
"Ihe site of the house is not memorable.
There is no reasonable ground to suppose that
so much as an Indian wigwam ever occupied
the spot; nor has Henry Thoreau, very faith
iul friend of Mr.. Emerson's, and Of the woods
and waters of his native Concord, ever found
an Indian arrow head on the premises Else
where in the village he turns up arrow heads
abundantly, and Hawthorne mentions that
Thoreau initiated him into the mysteries of
finding them. But neither the Indians, nor ma
| ture, nor Thoreau can invest the quiet residence
of our author, with the dignity or even the sus-
| picOn Of legend. History stops short in that
direction with Charles Coolidge, Esq., and the
| year 1929