Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1882-03-30
Constance Fenimore WooIson.

The readers of THE CHRONICLE who
have seen "Anne' in Harper's Monthly,
will be interested in the following sketch
Of the authOress, Miss Constance Feni-
more WoOlson, taken from the Cleve-
land Leader:
Miss WoolsOn was born in Claremont,
New Hampshire, bat removed at very
early age to Cleveland. Her father, G.
j. Woolson, was member of the firm of
WoOlson & Hitchcock, stove merchants.
Through him Constance is descend
ed from the Peabodys of New England.
Her mother was a niece of Fenimore
Cooper. Miss WOolson was known
among her sisters as a quiet, thoughtful
child, flashing at rare intervals into en-
thusiasm, as something touching or ar
tiStic came in her way. She talked but
little; this quietude remained with her
as she grew TO mature life, imPreSSing
an observer with the idea that the high
ways are byways of her thinking were
not trodden by every casual acquaint-
ance. The greater part of her school life
was spent in Cleveland, but the special
preparation for the work she has since
done was outside of school room walls,
and, indeed, outside the city's smoke.
When her fathers health began to fail
she set out in the family carriage; to-
gether they "went gypsying" wherever
their horses heads were turned, down
among the valleys of the Buckeye State.
any and everywhere out of the mire and
dust of travel. wherever anything quaint
or picturesque was to be found, subjects
for weeks together of the King of Zoar.
0r- f,,. Of annfhor rllaan in which
the more curious studies of human life
were presented. Again whole seasons
would be spent at Mackinaw, or in out
of-the-way places on the upper lakes.
From these outdoor studies she CLEANED
for the future. In these resorts her best
character studies were undoubtedly first
embodied.
1t is believed that subsequent to her
fathers death, her writings were given
to the public. Soon after this time she
went South with her mother. spending
winters in Florida,rarely coming farther
north than the Sulphur Springs of Vir-
ginia.
After the loved mothers death, she,
her sister, and niece went to Europe,
and notes of travel came back to friends.
The special point of excellence in her
work is thought, by those best qualified
to determine, to be In quaint character
sketches. Each line is a study from one
whose eye sees far below the surface.
Those who give to her writings the
highest need of praise come from the
leading critics of the day.
The list of her principal works is:
"Rodman the Keeper" comprising her
Southern sketches; "Castee Nowhere" in
ciudes her Mackinaw stories; "The Old
Stone House" Anne" serial in Har
pers Magazine. a volume of short arti-
cles may have preceded these.
Miss Woolson is spending the winter
at Sorrento, the birthplace of Tasso. In
addition to the beauty of the scenery
and the delights of the climate. she un-
doubtedly finds in the quaint characters
about her new subjects for study, rare
models for the touches of her facile pen.
A thorough cosmopolitan, she sees al
ways the human pulse beating un-
der whatever guise.
No national prejudice, no unbending
habits of criticism dim her keen power
of observation when new phases of char
aeter are presented for dissection. Her
sketches, CLEANED from a residence South
show this trait, and from the rare homes
she is making for herself in the Old
World, we may hope for still richer pre-
sentations.
In the spring she is to join her sister
aud 60 to Switzerland, where she will
finish the work she has in hand, ANNE,
and one other.