Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1874-08-01
The Home Of sIr. Bescber.

From the New York sum-
A brown-stOne, three-story house at
l24 Columbia flights, only three blocks
from Plymouth church, is Mr.. Beecher's
residence. He has owned it and lived
there for many years. 1t is one Of the
row of nearly ike structures, aud the
property in the neighbOfhOOd is very
valuable. "The Hights" is the Murray
HUI of Brooklyn, and Mr.. Beecher's
place is Just within the limits of the dis
trict covered by that designation. The
door has q plate Inscribed III. w. Beech
err Just inside the hall stands an old
fashioned hat-rack with a mirror in it.
Along the wall Of the stairway leading
to the second floor hang many framed
engTavings. The parlOr opens off the
hall, and the door is always open. Look
iDg IN, one sees an apartment which has
no counterpart as to odd variety of con-
tents. 1t is long and wide, and Old-style
in finish. The walls are divided into
panels by projecting posts and by q
wooden ledge that runs entirely around
the room about four feet from the
floor. Bunches and festOOns of au-
tumn leaves are hung plentifully
about, and there are enough pic
lures, from oi-psintings to cheap
ferrotyI,es, to leave but little of the walls
uncovered. The furniture is a chaos of
STYLES. A sofa is shigh-backed and mushy-
bottOmed, merging into the sOttness OF
second childhood. A concert grand pi-
ano il new and shiny. a nOndescript
cabinet, huge and time-worn, is in a
corner. A contrasting new bookcase is
full OF fresh, gilt-backed volumes. Two
yelloWed geographical globes, on high
al gfaVH Ike aArfftTeig AZ he gpF-
ner5 Of the fireplace. A table is covered
with a brown wooden spread. Every
thing is Uttered with big and little or
namental articles, as though the tokens
Of all the Beechers' birthdays and Christ
masses were there preserved. Hand
some bTOnZss, plaster figures, china aTti-
cles, countless things impossible to de-
scribe as to material or intent, are on the
mantle, on the table, on the cabinet and
on carved brackets. Lacking any SEM
blance of method or taste in its furni-
ture, the apartment gains an air Of care
less comfort. Back Of the parlOr and
connected by wide doors, is Mr.. Beecher's
study. Sitting ut one of the large WIN
dows, one can look down the barbOT,
upon New York city, or into jersey City
and Hoboken. The view is one of busy
life and commerce spread out like die
rama. A fiat-tOpped wTiting-desb, with
many drawers, stands in the middle OF
the room. Paintings-better than any
in the paTlOr-hang on the parts of the
wall that are not covered by book
shelves. Camp chairs and lounge fur
nish ample seating capacity for visitors.
A stuffed easy chair provides for the
owner. The late occurrences have
changed Mr.. Beecher's home habits.
Formerly, when not away from his farm,
his hours were from two to four every
afternoon, and he saw everybody who
called. The odd parlor was his recep-
ton room, and at two o'clock it usually
held not less than half dozen visitors.
To everybody, high OF low, he was cour-
teous and Unstilted. His manner was
off-hand aud undignified. How are
YOU, old fellow% was his usual saluta-
lion to aCquaintances. His study was
the rendezvous for PlymOuth's leaders,
and many of the Brooklyn clergymen
were frequent louBgers there. Indeed,
that floor of the house was much Ike
the offices Of a business man, the family
occupying the two more secluded upper
stOries y