Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-05-22
DRIFT.

| chose n more favorable time than the month
| oi May, when the fragrance of lilac, ming
ling with the spicy breath Of tho budding
| eyergreens in the beautiful "square" In
front of tho school aud ni tho old Mnravian
church ad Joining, meet hiIh from aiar, aud
prepare him Tor the charming harmony oil
colors and shades Of vorduro that open Ia
view as lie drives up before tho venerable
Hall, amid the welcone-song Of n whole choir
of robins that nest in the dense trees and
shrnbbery of the square Everything seems
to work together to make tho impression
that tins, aboyo all other places " the one
beat aud most appropriate spot In the world
for fostering physical and mental health,
virgin purity aud tho truosl refinement ana
beauty of body and soul
| AND the exterior surroundings, with the
| quaint old stono buildings, vine-clad and
| guarded by the o'orshahowing arms of ven
| erabls troes, make this Impression, how Is II
| deepened the moment We enter those build
| ings themselves We find none Of the
| usual marks-tud odors-ofa school ; moth
| ing suggesting anything else than specially
comfortable cultured and highly refined
fanily's home. What causes it? ] could
not tell. There was no attempt anywhere at
"nsthetic" " display no effort to :" impress"
| the visitor with anything. Tho principal
| was ~ unassuning rs can be ; tho young
| girls charming in their sweet nG:uraIne ess.
| Yet everywhere the true artprescnce made
| itself felt. There was a spirit of refinement
| In the very air moiesty, gentle dignity,
| freshness, simplicity and lack of all artiii.
| cialnesS, distinguishing all the appointments
| about tho place no less than tho dress ap-
pearance and whole bearing Of the members
! of this charmiu: iami Y. school, from the old.
| est To tho youngest, that was revelation TO
me aud q source of deepest wonder and ad-
miratiOn. ! have never seen or felt anything
| like Il in any other school in the country.
| Here, said |, X genuine character-culture
| Here Is the ideal girls school for which |
| long have been looking And say 80 still
WHILE there | had the pleasure OF meet
ing the principals oldest daughter, hersel;
graduate OF the Hall aud product OF its
highest culture and most spiritucie intiu-
ouccs who entertained me most charmingly
by letting me examine her fine collection of
autographs, probably a. choice aud valuable
a ono as any amateur collector In tho state
can boast, numbering between one and two
hundred autographs Of nearly all tho oml-
nent men amt women who adorn our CON
temporary literature, art and other depart
ments OF life, both American aud English.
What made 1t particularly entertaining aud
interesting, however, was Miss Bricken-
STEMS rccnun'al OF the many incidents asso'
ciated with her procuring the d'iierent auto
graphs Nearly every name has for her
special history, some of them hlghlN anus
ing, several OF deeply pathetic interest
TO the latter class belong the autographs
Of J. \. Garfield, his wife, Lucretia Il. Gar
field, and the trembling chirography OF the
murdered presidents aged mother, Eliza
Ballou Garfield. II was decidedly character
istic OF Mr. Garfield, that, although Miss
Brckonsten'- request for his autograph
reached him only on the evening before
leaving his ohio home 10 go 10 Washington
for the ceremony orhls Inauguration, he yet
took the time at once 10 aCcede to the request
and to dispatch his autograph to Miss u. be-
fore taking the train eastward. II ever any
one would have had good excuse for reius
ing or neglecting to write, he had II then.
But he was never too much pressed FOR time
to be courteous, nor ever grew so "great " as
To forget his kindly consideration for ALI The
plain aud unadOrned, blunt and closely
pruned autograph oi |. :. Grant Is on the
same page OF the album with those ot the
GariieldS. So il the quito different one OF
X. Il. Haycs done at the " Executive Man
SION, Washington = and that OF {. \. Ar
thur, somewhat resembling Grants, only
little larger and less plainly legible Mr..
Cleveland's has not yet been procured. but
our handsome secretary of the navy has his
duly on file, W. G. Whitney, a legihle but
very hurried hand it il.
OxE ofthe worst scrawls in tho whole coli
lection is Carl Schurz's, and probably next to
him comes that oi the even greater orator,
the memory of whose elOquence still is ring
ing in our ears, Wendell Phillips. The lat
ter il particularly rare autograph, as Mr..
Phillips never knowingly gave it To any col
lectOr. Neither, ii is said, does Henry Ward
Beecher but his, too, has somehow been Sc
cured for this collection. So has the late
John B. Coughs, Phillips Brooks, Gen. Sher-
idan's, Gen. Sherman's and many more OF
men eminent in American pubhc lie. OF
English statesmen there are number. The
Earl of Shattesbury sent bis without muir
mur and IL il strong, characteristic hand,
| one that was ever open 10 deeds and gifts OF
kindness and mercy, and which, though
now cold in death, will long I've remembered
| with blessings by thousands the world over
A learned scientific nobleman, valiant
fighter against the modern school Of evolu-
| tonists, and author OF "T The Reign OF Law
| and other works, writes in "A round, ilowing
| hand, running all his words together Il
send you my autograph-Argyll." From
| Lord Derby " Is another, in contrast with
the small, plain one of John Bright" But
| the " "nohlest Roman of them all, the great
| est living statesman of the world, sent word
| through his private secretary that Mr..
| Gladstone much regrets, &c" ct after the
| letter was sealed, it seems the old man elo-
queut rslonted and dashed oil his name,
| Nv. Gladstone" on the outside left-hand
1
| legible, however, as that of the only repre-
| sentative ot royalty in the collection, King
| Kalakaua The late Dean Stanley, writing
in the extreme rght-hand upper corner ot a
| card, is almost aS uudecipherable aS Carl
| SchurZ. Dean Farrar writes much more
| plainly, and Archbishops Trench and TAFT
| are both fine pennen.
| As rule, Miss Brickenstein met With
| nothing but pleasant responses and uniform
| courtesy from the most eminent persons
| whom she addressed. 1t was only by those
| who are most eminent in their own estima-
| did she have to have recourse to stratagem To
Obtain an autograph. No, 1t is not fair To say
that either. She has only one that was pro
cured by stratagem. She received 1t quite
fairly and innocenuy, not knowing until
some time afterwards how it was Ootalned.
| IL il the autograph Ot President McCosh, OF
| Princeton, signed To "A schedule OF studies
| made by him aud pasted on tho inside OF a
| closet door IN his lecture room. This was,
believe, surreptitousiy appropriated in some
way or other 10y u Princeton student, who
| knew how morbidly afraid the old Scotch
| philosopher is of having specimens of his
handwriting come into the possession o
anyone else. Well, don't blame him much
| for his penmanship p certainly is nothing to be
| particularly proud OF! Sill | have seer
worse. Notably among artists and actors
X. Swain Giliord's and w. Hamilton Glib
sons are exceptions; both write very fairly
at least if their autographs In this collection
sent by themselves, are good specimens