The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1884-07-11
Mrs. ANN s. STEPHENS.
An Hour at Home With the Venerable Al
thOress-Her WOrk.A

| An Hour at Home With the Venerable Au
| 1hOress-Her WOrk.N
There are but few, if any of the ladies wht
are interested in our department, who have no
at some time in their lives read and been deeply
interested in some of the novels of Mrs. Anr
| S Stephens. | can remember when | was q
| girl how poured over them hour after hour
| and there are few of our young lady readers
who have not, expect done the same There
fore, thought it would interest particularly
our young people to know something of the
home of this venerable lady.
She is now seventy -four years old, and lives
very quietly. Her house is handsome on the
outside, but not at all pretentious, but as soon
as the door opens the visitor feels the strong in
dividuality of the owner as evinced by the sur
roundings. Plain but elegant, rich without
ostentation, and comfortable above all, with an
air OF womanly taste, is everything about her.
The halls are polished wood, carved and
furnished with soft carpets and sculptured
racks and chairs. The parlors have squares of
Persian carpets laid over the polished inlaid
floors, and the chairs and sofas are each work
cases filed with volumes stand in every room,
and little tables hold sets of priceless porcelain
and other pottery. On the walls hang pictures
that once belonged to Aaron Burr. Her dining
room is furnished in the same quiet, but elegant
taste. There is very little of tie fashionable
brio -brac around, such as is seen elsewhere,
vet, what few articles there are, outvllue whole
rooms full like that seen in other parbrs.
The private studio of Mrs Steph,ns where
she passes most of her time, is on tie second
floor, charming, sunny room. A comfortable
lounge, and soft cushions, an Overlooking book
case, and large easy chairs, an ebony cabinet
filled with work of art complete the furniture |
Of this room. Several paintings alorn the |
walls, most of them painted by artistic friends |
and given to her as souvenirs. Among them is |
a pretty little piece painted by the LATE Frank |
Leslie. Over the sofa is an almost ife-sized |
portrait of Mrs Stephens in her 3oth year, and |
the most careless observer can trace the re- |
semblance to her as she is now, though the |
brown curls have changed to snowy white
her dark-blue eyes are still full of fire and in
telligence.
When she was six years old she wrste her
first poem. She had been shut in her room for
having leased a red-headed boy, who had been
adopted in the family, and while in solitary
confinement wrote verse calling the boy a
lunce, and then she pinned it on the outside of
he door, SO that whoever came to release her
would find it. Then from time to time she
wrote little sketches, but not for publication.
Until she was about twenty -four, when she
ook her position before the world as novel;
st.
She edited and managed Frank Leslie's first
magazine for some years. then she made an en-
,agement with Peterson Brothers, of Phila-
lelphia, and has been with them fifty years
lalf a century-and is still writing, though
here has long ceased to be any need of her
writing. She is widow and has one son and
daughter, named for herself. She has enough
Unpublished poems to make large volume,
nd her daughter intends publishing them some
ay in Handsomely illustrated volume. She
AS written and published over forty successful
ooks. This aged lady extends an influence
Or gool all around her. Kindness and consid-
ration for all has been her habit through life.
nd there is no one in the land who NAV not
'el honored by being admitted to her presence.
-lOlive HarpeI's Letter.