The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-06-25
Homes St Genius.

Genius is no aristocrat. She doe
not seek marble palaces or turreted cas-
ties to dwell with king or noble; bu
loves rather to inger in the humbl
home of the peasant, among the poo
and lowly. Of course therp are .e4cer
tions to this, as to every other rule, AM
many of the rich and titled have becom
famous, but generally the favorites o
genius are those who have no long lin
of ancestors to look back upon will
pride, no Golfer whose golden content
are never exhausted.
One of the trials, coming hand il
hand with the fame and success whicl
ever attend men and women of genius
is the curiosity of the world. Thei
private life must be fully unfolded t.
the public gaze, and they, patiently o.
not, must submit to the ride scrutiny
This curiosity, to s6me extent, belongs
to every one we all have a desire tt
know what Shakespeare did when boy
what he said and how he acted if Mil
ton was happy in his home life !; if Mo
zart ever quarreled; If Michael Angelo
ate and drank like other men, and 6
thousand other similar questions pre-
sent themselves to every mind while
thinking of the lives of the great and
| famous.
We should not seek to raise the veil
which shields home from etvious out
siders but since it has been already
uplifted, there surely can be no impro-
priety in taking peep beneath.
In an old-fashioned country village,
among the hills of Yorkshire, stands a
quiet parsonage, where dwelt the author
of "Jane Eyre" The house Is of gray
stone, strongly rooted with flags in or
der to resist the winds which sweep
fiercely across the moorlands. The
church is on one side, the SCHOOL
house on the other, while the purple
moors stretch far away beyond. Under
the windows of this parsonage grew a
few plants, hardy ones, for such only
could endure the cold and rigorous
climate.
In this dreary and desolate place
lived, wrote, and died, that woman of
true genius, Charlotte Bronte. The
bad roads cut off all communication
with the surrounding country, and all
the intellect and education of the Bronte
family were far superior to their neigh
bors; their lives, one might say, were
bounded by the home circle. Their
father spending all of his time in his
study, the mother an invalid confined to
her room, the brother and sisters early
learned to depend upon themselves.
After the death of her mother and two
elder children, Charlotte supplied their
place to her younger aisters, and the
cares incident upon such. position
caused her to become old and thought
full beyond her years. Such we're the
home and circumstances of "Currer
Bell" and both had their influence
upon her works and character. The
bleak, cold winds infused some of their
own vigor and strength into her writ
ings, the purple heath some of its fra
GRANGE and beauty; her isolated position,
originality and freedom of thought that
think of her small circle of acquaint-
ances, it seems truly wonderful that
one, thus situated, could have given to
the world works of such thrilling inter-
est and power as "Jane Eyre, Evil
Iette," and "Shirley."
The home of Mrs. Browning, one of
the worlds favorite poets, was in Eng
land, but more beloved than her native
soil was the land under ltalia's sunny
skies. For ItaIy's freedom she wrote
and prayed, and it is truly fitting that
the last home of this "soul of fire en-
closed in a shell of pearl " should be in
beautiful Florence.
Where olive orchards gleam and quiver
Along the banks of Amos river"
she now sleeps, with the bright Etruscan
roses bending over her, and the sweet
music of the golden river to sing her
requiem.
A clay-buiit cabin in Ayrshire was the
birthplace of Scotland's greatest poet,
Robert Burns. He was simple peas
ant boy, but, nevertheless, genius had
him with that immortal fire
which so few possess. He deserted the
plough for the pen, and the Scottish
rustic became the renowned poet. His
fame, however, brought him no pros
perity feasted and fattered for time
be was soon neglected and forgotten, and
died in obscurity and poverty.
That genius is not always so Ackle |
and cruel to her favorites, is shown by |
;he life of Washington Irving. His last |
laws were spent in his beautiful resi-
lence, Sunnyside, on the banks of the |
Hudson, where the
Soil is rich with Fancy's gold,
And stirring memories of old,
md around which cluster historical
stories and romantic legends.
There seems now to be ringing in our
,ars the familiar strains of "Home,
sweet Home :" and we think of it's
Luthor, who never experienced the de-
lights and comforts of which he sings,
lever knew what it was to have home.
| wanderer all his life, he died at last In
foreign land but we wish that all men
nd women of genius, be their homes
n poverty or in wealth, so lived that it
ould be s-id of them as of John How
rd Payne =
True, when the gentle spirit fed
To realms beyond the azure dome,
With arms outstretched, Gods angle said,
Welcome to heavens Home, sweet Home.