Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1882-04-05
CORRESPONDENCE.
Colonel Ingersou at Home-A Pleasant
Saturday Evenfng-No Further Use for
Diogenes' Lantern.

Colonel Ingerso1 at Home-A Pleasant
Saturday Evening-No Further Use for
DioGenes' Lantern.
WASHINGTON, D. c., April B, 1882,
To the Editor Of the JOURNAL COURIER:
l must tell you of our evening at Colonel
IngersolIs. We had been busy all day fin
ishing up this extraordinary Lenten season,
before Passion week, and were quite worn
out with our efforts to accomplish everything,
but, as an unkind fate had been against our
getting to any of their Saturday evenings
before this date, we determined to risk
complete exhaustion and it was q great sat
isfaction to US afterward, for we were al
most entirely restored, or, at least, to the
point of forgetting We were weary.
Mrs. Ingerson met US with an unstudied
cordially of manner which fifty led up to the
large, open hearted greeting of the Colonel
himself His well developed muscles and
generous figure, his frank smile, laughing
eyes, and certain easy projecting of his
own self possession and warmth of welcome,
coming more than half way to meet you,
turned the conventional cold hand-shake
into a delightful recognition of kin
ship, and q token of good will
1t was as if in plodding along through the
narrow streets of some little inland town you
emerged suddenly upon the breezy fields, all
gay and bright with undiluted sunshine full
from the bluest of clear summer skies MIR.
1ngerso1 was pleased to be facetious, and
spoke of himself as having exchanged pull
pits" last week with Henry Ward Beecher.
The gentleman with US said to him, IF you
preached in the morning and Mr.. Beecher in
the evening should go to church twice .
Sunday" "Ah, Doctor, T" said Mr.. Ingersoll
laughingly, but with quizzical earnestness
which showed genuine interest in and respect
for his whilom rival, "Beecher would be such
fine man if he only said all he thought. he
don't acknowledge what he knows is right
He don't 90 far enough" Moving on into
the next room (the house is four rooms deep
and plainly but most comfortably furnished1
we found the daughters of the house, two
pretty brunettes, holding their own little
court. Here was a piano, In the
corner guitar case leaned
against pile of music books I;
violin also lay lovingly ON top of pile of
valuable scores and a revolving case fairly
overlooked with unbound treasures, showing
a family unison in that most refining of the
refined arts, while little child, niece of
the house, was on her knees at tete a tete,
don't be frightened-playing with her
paper dolls In the fourth room the table
was spread Here those forced inmates of
might for once reYel in a "good square
meal. " and constantly replenished bowls of
punch, fianked by large plates of delicately
thin bread and butter, provoked appetite In
the breast of the latest diner out-a tempta-
ton, by the way, from which We suffer this
morning and for which unlimited ginger ale
has been prescribed, with chances of ulti-
mate success. The company enjoyed every
thing, they moved about fram place to place,
lady or gentleman, with perfect freedom and
an air of being at home. MIR. Ingerson him
self giving the air, none we're Glow to take it.
The other ''we'' said: II like this This is
wholesome, free, large This is not an at
mosphere. This is the whole vault of ether
a wind from the sea, clearing away all doubts
and petty worries. Why have l not come
here every Saturday night to be revived and
refreshed, to breathe naturally once week.
Then the present "we,' rather agreeing, but
at the same time curious: Yes !! but you
would tire of this too. You would be longing
for the perfectly dead level of orthodox pro-
priety." Never" she exclaimed, 81 a
Bohemienne at heart. This just suits me.
These ladies will tell you, in speaking of their
families, Our folks SO and So and they
are not ashamed to be themselves-to be
natural They know more than you and
at this moment What we say sounds stilted
and insincere to them. I like it. like it."
'Ah!' 1 said, "let us hope We are all Bohe-
mians az fond, if 1t comes to that, only
there are SO many layers on top" We are
not very strong on the millinery question,
hnt an idea of informally in dress also was
dimly conveyed to our minds by the prepon-
derance of short dresses and bonnets. Here
and there was an evening dress and dress
coat. Mr.. Ingersoll himself always wears
one, and the broad white front gives him an
added air of expsHse. He seemed
to have something in common with
1. nna in mr.
US and remembering our native place (it was
mentioned in the Introductory he stopped
for a moment and said: ''Well, and how's
New Haven, now ? Just as we'll as ever,
should judge!" and with twinkle and bow
he was gone again.
You may quote Mr. Ingersoll, you may adj
mire him, you may disagree with him, or
you may follow far in the wake of his holder
footsteps; but unless you come face to face
with him, unless he takes you by the hand
and welcomes you alike to his heart and
home, ss he does all who 60 to him, except