Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1886-06-27
FRED DOUGLASS AT HOME.
THE VENERABLE, HISTORIC COL
oRED ORATOR AND HIS WIFE.

The Kindness and Pleasant Dignity Oh
Mr.. DouElaas-A Pen Picture OF Mrs.
Doueiass-Grandchildr
Very few white men In a warm climate
have as good q home q Frederick Douglass
He does not inhabit q mere house, he Lives
In respectable mansion. Having been an
industrious and methodical man, aware OF
the value Of money, be has saved his earn
ings, whethsr procured By authorship, or
lecturing, or manual labor, or of1ce-hcld-
ing, and his residence at Anacostia, or
Uniontown, Is the best house there 1t COM
mands Q beautiful view Of the city o.
Washington, and Of the broad rivers which
form the boundaries Of Washington and
meet at its Arsenal Point Under his eye
lies the whole city, the monument, the
dome Of the capitol, the navy yard, near
and far buildings, and the rolling blue
heights Of Maryland and Virginia. In the
rear Of the house is good, large stable,
and the outbuiidings show attention to
comfort and even Injury. might suppose
that this property, as it stands in no par
ticuIarly stylish portion Of Washington
City, was worth $4,000 to $1,000 The
house itself is rather of the southern char
acter, built, think, Of brick or stone, with
q door in the middle and Q porch in front,
and a pediment over the middle Of the edi-
fee Ringing the door-bell, Q woman Of brown
tint came to the door and said that Mr..
Douglass was within We entered and hung
our hats and coats upon the hatrrack and
turned to the right The house consists,
perhaps, of four rooms on this lower OK
main floor, with no less number OF rooms
above To the left of the hall is the parlor
proper, and behind that is Mr.. Douglass
library. To the right is the sitting room; l
suppose the dining-r room may be behind 1t
The old gentleman, whose age, l think, Is
76, received US both with mixture OF
Christian kindness and pleasant dignity,
which made me think, as l sat near him for
some time, that he looked like the king OF
Madagascar or some land we have dimly
heard Of where the white mans intercourse
has not propagated selfishness and greed
He is large man, cast in the mold OF a
man of command and affairs; his hair Is
now Of a grayish white and is carefully
combe1 and worn somewhat long. 1t falls
back upon his broad shoulders His fore
head is not very high nor yet very promi-
nent, but rather subordinate to the general
health in his face and body. He has long
nose, slightly retrous'e, but with nostrils
open and taking in things His chin and
jaws are rather firm and as he speaks he
rather inhales and smiles, and thus conveys
something Of an impression of nervous earn
estness Although he is one half white, the
co.ored portion of him is probably the most
vigorous element His eye is dark and
cleaning and bespeaks another and q hotter
land
A PEN PICTURE OF MRS. DOUGLASS.
ham he INTRODUCED US carefully TO the dif-
ferent persons there-9uite a little party.
We had gone to see him without invitation,
and therefore broke in upon his ordinary
family circle There were three white Ia
dies present, one Of whom was Mrs Doug
lass The other ladies heard the converse
ton, smiled airabiy, but made few or no
remarks Mrs Douglass is lady Of tall
form, well made, nut neither stout nor thin.
Her complexion is a little reddish She
gives YOU the idea somewhat Of q woman
who had been the matron or superintendent
of some philanthropic institution in which
charity plays the principal part She
dresses herself plainly and modestly, and in
the intercourse of the family shows the
subordination Of a younger person to her
husband She speaks of him as "Mr. Doug
careful respect, and we had been talking &c
him, perhaps, fifteen minutes before she
made any remarks, when, in some matter
Of the "reminiscences Of his slave life, she
called his attention to an interesting matter
he had omitted
Further OH she said: Gentlemen, as you
have your autographs" and led the way "a
liz h.o ha, 81 b kpn
tint, and there Is a mixture of the New
England woman and the western woman
about her, which gives you the idea OF
the wife Of some man whose pur-
poses were above mere comfort, but who
had executed and nearly finished his mis-
sion He did not say much to her in the
talk. The otter white ladies present were
near the middle age, and, l suppose, might
he relatives OF Mrs douglass A handsome
granddaughter Of the OK marshal was there.
with soft eyes and soft, warmly tinted fn e,
very neatly dressed After We had been
waiting half an hour, she said that she ha I
to drive to Mount Pleasant in her little
phaeton, and came up and kissed her grand
father, and her daughter. as l supposed 1t
was also came up and kissed him reyer-
emily The old man now has four living
generations about him His library would
be quite a creditable one for the editor of a
newspaper or ordinary literary man All
over his house are the indications Of graft
tude to the white men who supported the
cause OF the African race-Garrison and
Lundy and Thaddeus Stevens and Sumner
and others occupy places on the wall The
house is n carefully furnished and is fully
as respectable as any white mans home. II
is a remarkable exhibition Of our COM
paratively new times that right at the city
Of Washington, in the midst Of fine land
scapes, should have come to settle this man,
who more than Il .ty years ago, with his life
in his hand, undertook to establish himself
and procure some Of the benefits Of civilian
ton Washington Cor. Cincinnati En-
quirer.