The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-04-12

of sympathy for their trials and joys that have
made him so realistic to u.s. On the table
about him were great number OF candles, all
shining brightly and rejecting the room in an
enormous mirror of purest plate glass that filled
the entire end of the room and was of dimen
sions to break a Chicago saloon keepers heart
with envy. Mr. Reade, like Werther's Char
lotte, was calmly eating bread and butter and
drinking tea out of beautiful Sevres cup.
You see,n he said 1--WE been to the re
hearsal of my new play, Rachel, the Reaper,
and four hours of constant drilling of incOm
petent people is exhausting. Actors concen-
trRte so much in themselves, so much of the
ignorance of working and the fralty of human
nature, that were l a saint instead of a querul
Gus old man yet would be angry. Anger is an
excitement that makes heavy drafts upon the
physical and mental powers, neither of which in
my case are so strong as | would like, ana that
is why drink tea. / have always found it the
only stimulant to my brain. If take glass
of wine its effect is Supplying Coffee L never
did care for, and-will you have cup of tear
From this time he chatted along in the most
charming manner possible, touching every sub
ject with a force of expression, strength of idea,
and elegance in diction that it would be folly
for me to attempt to reproduce. 1 can only
remember that at the end of an hour that seemed
not nearly half that time he rose and taking UP
a candle said:
Perhaps you have noticed that am color
ist The walls of this, as of all my rooms, are
plain white, that is in order that | with
proprity hang picture, of which l have a few
gems, against it. What an absurdity to be sure,
to plaster wall over with cheap colored papers
of inartistic designs and hang against them any
thing, from pencil sketch of willow tree to a
landscape by Rembrandt, and expect to satisfy
the eye or give the mind one sensation of pleas
ure. These few scores of plaques L have here
are, as you see, without frames, for the reason
that if a plaque is pretty enough to justify
the expense of frame it is entirely too
beautiful to justify it. He led the way
into the parlor, and there saw that the impress
sion had received at first of the small amount
of furniture and the paucity of decoration was
the result of the artists arrangement of many
pictures and luxurious and tasteful furniture.
The old gentleman pointed them out one after
another, chatting pleasantly about the artists
aud the work. He told me, on leaving, chat he
he never expected, although it has always been
his wish, to visit America; that he would never
write another long story; that he was now
engaged in writing number of short tales fol
Harpers people in New York; that he built al
his stories upon fact and never used an incident
of any kind that did not have its parallel in &C
tual fact He said that he grew to love his
characters, as every author must do if he sue
ceeded in making his characters lovable. Having
himself had sorrow-indeed the greatest of sor
rows, bereavement he felt more cordial sym
pathy with those whose lot in his own writings
was that of somberness and grief.