Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-08-17
THE RUGBY COLONY.
Tho Homo of the Mother of ThOma
Hughcs-'rhe Public Library an,
Other Attractions

HugIics-'The Public Library and
Other Attractions.
from Rugby Tenn. Letter in Cincinnati Com
Gazette.
The most attractive point in Rugby i.
unquestionably the Hughes Cottage
where live the venerable mother of Thorn
as Hughes, and her granddaughter, Miss
Emily Hughes, daughter of w. Hastings
Hughes, Esq. The little house faces the
main street of the town, and is set in d
square Of velvet turf, bordered with flow.
er-beds, and n long grape arbor leads tc
the open porch which shelters the eastern
side. Since our visit last year, deserted
one-room house in the neighborhood has
been clapped on to the west side of the
cottage, and behold drawing-room to
make Belgravia turn little green with
envy. Walls, floors, and ceilings are OF
the rich forest pine, oiled to bring out
the warm tints of the natural wood. A
big fire e-place, in which anything less than
a six foot backlog would feel trife
lonesome, gives the keynote to the room
the western end is filled by great bay
window looking out into the forest, and
on either side are noble statuettes by a
famous London sculptor, one of Tom
Hughes and the other of Mrs. Senior,
Mrs. Hughes only daughter, whose death
some six years ago is still the sorrow of
her life. At the other end of the room
is portrait of the same nobly beautiful
woman, and on either side bookcases
crowded to ovcrilowing line the walls
from floor to ceiling Ruby and velvet
fire hang on either side of the fire.
place and few pretty womanly tritcs in
the way of embroidered table scarfs and
sofa pillows, and II mass of cut flowers
give womanly touch to the room, of
which these few suggestions give but n
hint. Tue square hall is lined with en-
cravings that would be the despair of n
collector of precious things. Fine old
line portraits of Arnold of Rugby, Cop
plestone and Vincent of Westminster,
Evelyn of Oriel, and other great classical
scholars and masters of English litera-
ture, and everywhere crops out the hand
some face of Tom Hughes-"My son, y
his mother calls him, with an intonation
of affection sufficient to put seas asunder
and bring him to her arms.
Mrs. Hughes is a wonderfully preserv.
ed woman of some Sc, somewhat under
the average height, and straight as an ar
row. Her fine, strong face, singularly
free from wrinkles, is lighted by pair OF
bright eyes, as blue as sapphires, an,
framed in frosty border of hair as soft
and white as flax, on which rests a cap
several degrees less snowy, though white
as the laundress' art can make it. Hei
manner is the perfection Of quiet but cor.
dial courtesy, and her voice, singularly
soft and musical, is without quaver. A
beautiful grandamc, the sunset of whose
life is gloritied by high living and holy
thinking.
The granddaughter, Miss Hughes, is O
dainty, thoroughbred little creature, witt
the bonniest Of brown hair and clear
gray blue eyes. An excessively short up
per lip gives to her face at first sight ar
expression Of hauteur that is quite for
eign to uer character. This is the very
type of girl Tennyson had i'll mind wher
he wrote of
An English rosebud thickly set with thorns.
She is devoted 10 her grandmama
though one suspects that her heart mus
ache n little for her brave young broth
ers, who are famous ranchers on theil
Texan sheep farm, but the little lady con
soles herself with her pretty mare Kitty
and kitty's foal, Gypsey, her Angori
goats, her chickens and host of othel
pets, the personal supervision of whcl
compels her to live delightful, but labo
rious days.
The Hughes Public Library is the de
light of visitors as well as residents. 81,
thousand volumes are handsome memo
rial Of the liberality Of Boston, Philadel
phia, New York and Cincinnati publish
ers. Chicago promised most liberally
but so far has failed TO put up any mar
gins. Some of the promoters OF thu
scheme, writes Mr.. Poole the librarian
have gone away, and others, it is under
stood, are dead, busted, or foully "dealt'
with-buried, maybe, under hecatoml
of lard, pigs, or barley.
Riding or driving parties to see TIN
views, or with n picnic Mt the end of TIN
journey, are favorite diversions ut Rugby
Our party made such an expedition unde
the guidance of Mr.. Robert Walton, tn
efficient and courteous manager of tin
Board of Aid estates. The OBJECTIVE
point was Round Top, the highest noun
tain in the vicinity. The route took IL
up the Black Wolf Valley and across tn
eastern section OF the estate, which alto
gether includes some $4,000 acres. Thi
portion is particularly rich in minerals
timber and farming lands, and full pro
mise to the settler. Round Top rise
9, 900 feet above the valley, and the climl
up to the top discloses fresh beauties a
every step. One after another the noun
tain ridges trace the line of beauty curry
ing and blending until the graceful profit
, of the horizon is complete. Vague reach
es OF distance and curves full OF rebel
lious energy entice the eye to oyerloo
! the valley and see how the mountains Lii
the lowlands on their sides, and how tn
blue mists trailing about their tops tur
the shattered crags into masses of saI
: : phire. To the westward Cheeneys Ga
opens the way to the blue vistas beyont
= and Fentress, Morgan and Cumberlan
counties stretch out for hundreds
! miles, bounded by the blue line OF IL
y Cumberland range, where it melts int
thn sky