The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1886-08-05
MRS. CLEVELAND'S BOOKS.
ssOuida" Said To BE Her Favorite Nov
elisa Variety of Works.

Miss Gregg, of Buffalo. who is visit
ing at the white house, has given lady
friend some interesting facts about Mrs.
Cieveland's tastes, especially in the mat
ter of books, writes Washington cor
respondent of the New York Tribune.
The presidents wife. according to this
lady, is almost as fond Of reading as
her intellectual sister-in-law. Her taste
runs in direction widely different from
that of Miss Cleveland, however. Her
little library, which was sent on from
Buffalo few days after her marriage,
is composed of a couple of hundred vol
umes, varied in character, but with the
element of fiction largely predominant
ing Strangely enough, it contains
Locke's Essay on the Understanding,
which is said to be one of Mrs. Cleve-
lands favorite books. On the first
blank leaf of the book is drawing by
the owner wh:o,: shows some artistic
ability and little humor. 1t represents
pair of very old and dilapidated books,
held together by paddock attached to
the tops. Underneath is the inscription:
Lock on the understanding"
Besides Locke's there are a few other
philosophical works, some polemical
treatises by Presbyterian divines, twenty
or thirty historical works, and as many
poems; the rest are novels. Mrs. Cleve-
land generally reads an hour or two
after breakfast, and occasionally at
night She likes to have some girl
friend with her to take turns at reading
aloud so that she can have sympathy in
her enjoyment. She and Miss Gregg
have a regular after breakfast reading
since the latter came to the white house,
and as the two school friends are con-
genial in their tastes Il is probable that
they enjoy this recreation more than
the formal receptions in which they
figure.
OF the novelists Mrs. Cleveland likes
"Ouida'' most She regards Wanda,
Countess Won Zalras," as the finest
piece of fiction in the language She
has read the book many times, and
committed to memory several Of its pas
sages descriptive of the Austrian Alps.
During her recent travels in Europe she
visited the region in which the scenes Of
the story are laid, and declares that she
recognized, from the passages commit
ted to memory, the Lake of Hohenzol-
rernn in the bosom of the mountain
pllalLltu Ndu6N VI Z@dIIdS, anu Iu5
island h1me of the monks heyond. Mrs.
Cleveland IS also an admlrer of THE
Duchess" and las even a few volumes
of Bertha M. Clay IN her collection. 1t
must be remembered, however, that the
library is not the selection OF mature
womanhood, but is composed OF volumes
most of which were purchased while she
was at school and during the period
when romance has the greatest attrac-
ton for a girls mind. The variety of
works show that Mrs. Cleveland has
what are called reading humors." 1t
is easy enough to imagine a young wo-
man of her temperament fond of
"Ouidan and THE Duchess" but it is
hard to believe that she can turn from
her love stories to Locke and the Pres
byterian controversialists and enjoy
them; yet such is the case. Miss Gregg
says that the mistress of the white house
often discusses with intense interest the
ge-hammer arguments of John Knox
against papacy in Scotland and the
causes which led to the disruption of
religious sects in the sixteenth century.
Mrs. Cleveland is also regular reader
of the bible; she reads from it a chapter
CNC1 tSti anu ilN uotS lLC SllllC
testament-a plain little leather cover
ed volume which. by the way, was given
to her by Mr. Cleveland just before she
entered Wells college.
There have been rumors to the effect
that Mrs. Cleveland intended TO follow
her sister-in-law into the field of letters.
These are not exactly true. From the
informant mentioned above it was
/ learned that while she does considerable
/ writing for her own amusement she has
no idea as yet of publishing book.
She has pile of romances in manu-
script and they are said to be good by
those who have seen them. She prefers
the unalloyed admiration of circle of
intimate friends to the cold criticism of
the public, and is unwilling to let the
offspring of her imagination go forth to
be bufleted by cruel world.
1t is said also that Mrs. Cleveland is
getting fond of political literature. She
| takes great interest in her husbands
state papers, especially his messages to
congress. It is even limited that the
element of humor which has crept into
the presidents yetoes can be traced to
her. Whether this be so or not, certain
It is that the president was never guilty
of Il humorous sentence before his mar
riage.