The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1875-06-23
Homes of Genius.

Genius is not aristocratic. She
does not seek marble palaces or
turreted castles to dwell with king or
noble; but loves rather to linger in
the humble home of the peasant,
among the poor and lowly. Of
course there are exceptions to this, as
to every other rule, and many Of the
rich and titled have become fa-
nous, but generally the favorites of
genius are those who have no long
line of ancestors to look back upon
with pride. no Golfer whose golden
contents are never exhausted.
One Of the trials, coming hand in
hand with the fame and success
which ever attend men and women
of genius is the curiosity off the world.
Their private life must be fully un-
folded to the public gaze and they,
patiently or not, must submit to the
rude scrutiny This curiosity, to
some extent belongs to every one;
we all have a desire to know what
Shakespeare did when boy, what
be said and how be acted; if Milton
was happy in his home life; il Mozart
every quarrelled; if Michael Angelo
ate and drank like other men; and a
thousand other similar questions
present 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 envi-
Gus outsiders; but since it has been
already uplifted, there surely can be
no impropriety in taking peep be-
meath.
In an old-fashioned country vii
lage among the hills of Yorkshire
stands q quiet parsonage, where
dwelt the author of "Jane Eyre"
The house is of gray stone, strongly
rooted with flags, in order to resist
the winds which sweep fereely
across the moorlands. The church
is on one side, the school-bouse on
the other, while the purple moors
stretch far away beyond. Under the
windows of the 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 the communiea-
tion with the surrounding country
and all the intelligent and education
of the Bronte family were far superb
or to their neigbbors; their lives one
might say, were bounded by the
home circle. Their father spending
all of his time ia his study, the moth
er an invalid confined to here room,
the brother and sisters early learned
to depend upon themselves After
the death of her mother and two ell
der children, Charlotte supplied their
place to her younger sisters, and the
cares incident upon such a position
caused her TO become old and
thoughtful beyond her years. Such
were the home and circumstances Of
"Currer Bell" and both lad their in
fuence upon her works sRd charac-
ter. The bleak cold winds infused
some of their own vigor and strength
into her writings, the purple heath
some Of its fragradce and beauty;
her isolated position, so unusual for
young girl, gave her an originality
and freedom Of thought that has made
her famous. Yet when we think Of
her small circle of aequaintanees, her
uninteresting and desolste surround
ings, it seems truly wonderful that
one thus situated could have given
to the world works Of such thrilling
interest and power as "Jane Eyre, "
"ViIlette,n and SHIRLEY"
The home of Mrs Browning, one of
the worlds fayorite poets, was in
England, but moro beloved than her
native soil was the land Ender Italy's
sunny skies. For Italy's freedom
she wrote and prayed, and it IS truly
fitting that the last heme o. this
soul of FIRE enclosed in she'll Of
pearl" should be in beautiful Flor
ence.