The Portland daily press., 1877-06-04

were Snr0uQeQ In mystery, even his age was
matter OF pure conjecture. Although he
was of the Maltese race, have reason to sup
pose that he was American by birth as he
to me eight years ago by Mrs. Stowe, but she
knew nothing of his age or origin. He
walked into her house one day out of the
great unknown and became at once at home,
as if he had been always friend of the fam
lily. He appeared to have ARTISTIC and literary
tastes, and it was as if he had inquired at
the door if that was the residence of the au-
thor of "Uncle Toms Cabin" and, upon be-
ing assured that it was, had decided to dwell
there. When he came to Mrs. Stowe he was
as large as he ever was, and apparently as
old as he ever became. Yet there was in him
no appearance of age; he was in the happy
maturity of all his powers, and you would
rather have said that in that maturity he had
found the secret of perpetual youth. And it
was as difficult to believe that he would ever
be aged as it was to imagine that he had ever
been in immature youth. There was in him
a mysterious perpetuity.
After some years, when Mrs. Stowe made
her winter home in Florida, Calvin came to
live with us. From the first moment he fell
into the ways of the house and assumed a
recognized position in the famly-I say rec
ogniZed, because after he became known he
was always inquired for by visitors, and in
the letters to the other members of the fami-
ly he always received a message. Although
the least obtrusive of beings, his individuality
always made itself felt.
His personal appearance had much to do
with this, for he was of royal mold and had
an air of high-breeding. He was large, but
he had nothing of the fat grossness of the
celebrated Angora family; though powerful,
he was exquisitely proportioned and as grace
full in every movement as young leopard.
When he stood up to open door-he opened
all the doors with old-fashioned latches-he
was portentously tall, and when stretched on
the rug before the fire he seemed too long for
this world-as indeed be was. His coat was
the finest and softest have ever seen,
shade of quiet Maltese; and from his throat
downward, underneath, he wore the whitest
and most delicate ermine; and no person was
ever more fastidiously neat. In his finely
formed head you saw something of his aristo-
cratic character; the ears were small and
cleanly cut, there was tinge of pink in the
nostrils, his face was handsome and the ex-
preston of his countenance exceedingly in
telligent-I should call it even a sweet ex-
preston if the term were not inconsistent
with his look OF alertness and sagacity.
1t is difficult to convey just idea of his
gayety in connection with his dignity and
gravity, which his name expressed. As we
know nothing of his family, of course it will
be understood that Calvin was his Christian
name. He had times of relaxation into utter
playfulness, delighting in ball of yarn,
catching sportively at stray ribbons when his
mistress was at her toilet, and pursuing his
own tail with hilarity tor lack of anything
better. He could amuse himself by the hour
and be did not care for children; perhaps
something in his past was present to his
memory. He had absolutely no bad habits,
and his disposition was perfect. I never saw
him exactly angry, though have seen his
tail.grow 10 an enormous size when strange
cat appeared upon his lawn. He disliked
cats, evidently regarding them as feline and
treacherous, and he had no association With
them. Occasionally there would be night
concert in the shrubbery. Calvin would ask
hear rush and a "peszt," and the concert
would explode, and Calvin would quietly come
in and resume his seat on the hearth. There
was no trace of anger in his manner, but he
wouldn't have any of that about the house.
He had the rare virtue of magnanimity. AL
though he had fixed notions about his own
rights, and extraordinary persistency in get
ting them, he never showed temper at a re-
pulse; he simply and firmly persisted till he
had what he wanted. His diet was one point;
his idea was that of the scholars about die
llOudTlcS-tO SCt tuC pCots LIZ hAOW oS
well as apy one what was in the house; and
would refuse beef if turkey was to be had;
and if there were oysters, he would wait over
the turkey to see if the oysters would not be
Forthcoming. And he was not gross gour.
mand; he would eat bread if he saw me eat
ing it and thought he was not being imposed
on. His habits of feeding, also, were re-
fined; he never used knife, and he would
put up his hand and draw the fork down to
his mouth as gracefully as a grown person.
Unless necessity compelled, he would not eat
in the kitchen, but insisted upon his meals in
the dining-room, and would wait patiently,
unless stranger were present; and then he
was sure to importune the visitor, hoping
that the latter was ignorant of the rule of the
house and would give him something. They
used to say that he preferred as his table cloth
on the floor a certain well-known church
journal: but this was said by an Episcopa-
liam. So far as know, he had no religious
prejudices, except that he did not Ike the as
ISOLATION of Romanists. He tolerated the
servants because they belonged to the house,
and would sometimes linger by the kitchen
stove; but the moment visitors came in he
arose, opened the door and marched into the
drawing-room. Yet he enjoyed the company
of his equals, and never withdrew, no matter
how many callers-whom he recognized as of
his society-might come into the drawing
room. Calvin was fond of company, but he
wanted to choose it; and / have no doubt
that his was an aristocratic fastidiousness,
rather than one of faith. 1t is so with most
people.
The intelligence of Calvin was something
phenomenal, in his rank OF life. He estab-
lished method of communicating his wants,
and even some of his sentiments; and he
could help himself in many things. There
was a furnace register in a retired room,
where he used to 60 when he wished to be
alone, that he always opened when he desired
more heat, but never shut it any more than
shut the door after himself He could do al
most everything but speak; and you would
declare sometimes that you could see pa
thetic longing to do that in his intellirent
face. have no desire to overdraw his qEali-
ties, but if there was one thing in him more
noticeable than another, it was his fondness
hours at low window, looking into the ra-
vine and at the great trees, noting the small
est stir there; he delighted above all things to
accompany me walking about the garden,
hearing the birds, getting tn esmell of the
fresh earth, and rejoicing in the sunshine.
He followed me and gamboled like a dog rol-
ling over on the turf and exhibiting his de-
light in a hundred ways. Ii worked, he sat
and watched me, or looked Off over the bank,
anu kept Ills ear open 10 Lu6 tWlJLCr Ill Iue
cherry trees. Wheu i. stormed, he was sure
to sit at the window, keenly watching the
rain or the snow, glancing up and down at
its falling; and winter tempest alwaps de.
lighted him. 1 think he was genuinely fond
OF birds, but so far as know, he usually con-
fined himself to one day; he never killed
as some sportsmen do, for the sake of killing,
but only as civilized people do-from neces-
sity. He was intimate with the flying squir-
rels who dwell in the chestnut trees-too in
innate, for almost every day in the summer
he would bsing in one, until he nearly dis
couraged them. He was, indeed superb
hunter, and would have been devastating
one, if his bump of destructiveness had not
been offset by a bump of moderation. There
was very little of the brutality of the lower
animals about him; don't think he enjoyed
rats for themselves, but he knew his business
and for the first few months of his residence
with us he waged an awful campaign against
the horde. and after that his simple presence
was sufficient to deter them from coming on
the premises. Mice amused him, but be
usually considered them too small game to be
taken seriously; 1 have seen him play for an
hour with mouse, and let him 60 with a
royal condescensien. In this whole matter
Of "getting living" Calvin was great con-
trast TO the rapacity of the age in which he
lived.