Sharp County record., 1878-08-16

From the Alllance.I
One more letter of summer gossip.
Having studied and enjoyed Newport
accepted an invitation from Lawrence
Barrett, and came hither, to tnd IN a
cottage the friendship and peace ana
fun which hotels can not give. Ana II
was rather delightful change to pass
from great material things over to the
mental and spiritual and social good
under the Barrett roof. My heart haa
formed quite an attachment to this good
actor and good man in the last days
of Gen. Custer, when this pair OF IN
separable friends called, at times, at my
Chicago home. The tragic fate OF Gus
ter lends to Barrett charm OF memory
Lawrence Barrett learned, years ago,
that the sea could help him over his va,
cations and reconstruct his mlnu ana
body, and bought a piece OF It's cage
and built a beautiful cottage on It's
rocks. In infinite kindness the sea runs
inland every few miles, to make places
for homes and boats and fsh-nets and
boat houses. The vast Atlantic fringeS
itself. and each tassel of this fringe be-
comes a summer resort. Mr.. Barrett
owns an acre or two Of the sea-Washe1i
ground, and from a solid high wall, all
his own, he steps down into his boat or
into the water or takes i'll the lite-mak-
inc air. His house overlOokS the Watery
scene from rocks which stand perhaps
40 feet above the highest tide Ihe
house has spacious porches, and Is IN
deed all that taste and common sense
can ask. 1t is large and inviting.
The inmates so far surpasS the
house. or any house, that only an archl-
tect or a carpenter could study the
porches and gables and forget the NOR
tails within. | shall leave CohaSset with,
out knowing how my room was frescoed
and carpeted, and of what kind OF wood
nv door was made; for the family mo-
nopolizes my thought and regard. Mr.
Rarrett is a star with four satellites
Mrs Barrett and three daughters, and
in all the universe no group moves in
more perfect harmony. The eldest
daughter is near 20, the second about
16, the Youngest about 8. Mrs, Barrett
seems as Young as her children. The
affection that binds these five is so strong
as TO be beautiful to behold. The oldest
daughter has already acquired quite a
perfect acquaintance with the German
and French languages, and with the III
erature of her own English. She has
translated and written out the Don
Carlos" of Schiller, and is busy at all
hours with books, or music, or rambleS,
The popular Barrett dpes not make mlia!z
his home a stage. There ARE clergymen
who seem always preaching, and SO
there are actors who always seem tread
inc the boards, but Mr.. Barrett packs
his art away in vacation with his ward
robe. It was with difficulty we could
induce him to read aloud few simple
verses a night or two since, and then he
read with the modesty of parlor IN
stead of with the enthusiasm OF the
stage.
find that the mind of such an actor
in its book relations inclines to history
and biography. The library in this cot
tace is rich with the records of the past.
AS the lawyer is partial to works in jurls-
prudence and philosophy, and as the
naturalist delights in Button and Audi
bon, so, nationally, the true actor loves
most that history in which parade the
men and women whom he must recall
to life. IIr. Bareett's shelves are laden
with the best ackounts of the worlds
Yesterday from the men Of Shakespeare
to the men of Sdphocles. All these
volumes have been read, for the speech
of the owner shows that he is not one OF
those mental beings who buy wooden
books by the square foot. This tact L
learned in the cool air of Cohasset; that
the actors profession compasses the
preachers calling in developing the
memory. The many prfieN5lons called
learned can depend mjN2o.J ap9n notes
and books of reference, tp'l .ne actor
must make his memory c29 - ! hea ~
load. Such brains as Bab rs fnd
Booths are compelled to kH{ e., = 1eArt
vast quantities of prose aptPrerso.
l must not philOsophize lsJ reader to
sleep. We have had pIertyr Of 1aopj-
ness and rest and fun here. y g be-
fore last Mr.. Barrett wa. Ao'N' by
his own art. After dark, wi oF " 9rT
at late supper, rap on IIh5nS q ..'y 'I5
manded an answer, ana ,I,ss Is who ~
cnIf Went to meet tbepA0 "lio = iC
To n,;rbt NV some lawful fSS9SSlCn, ,are
lta56d l'-5 a mony forlorn andI old s.artul
girl w who thvs;$SSS see N NJ q f2s5s. ret Mr..
ES'l E;aSa d property Riid troquest that hat.
continr nave .dyance and to demand an
interrh Iatth the chief lady of the COM
pany. thought of Charlotte Corday,
and began to look for the CLEAN of
dagger. With quick boldness, Barrett
was about to grapple with the mad girl,
when one of the daughters cried out
"Oh. it's Lilialn What laughter fol-