Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1890-08-27
any one ever saw, / told you he came
near being genius. II his talents had

near being genius II his talents had
been more concentrated. he would have
been genius hut they're too spread
out Cor absolute success In any depart-
ment He can doany thing he wants.
O4cc, when we came home from college
together, went to his house with him
whilo he was looking for somc books.
He lived with his grandmother and somo
old fossi(ized aunts who adorod him.
They were very rich and prosy and
prudish, and lived in huge old barrack
far downtown below Tenth street Tho
house on the outside looked like q
prison; on the inside 1t was the most
beautiful place ever had been in in my
life"
"Was it illumined by your friends
beauty or his wit?"
both, you might say. Ihavo never
seen any thing moro artistic than tho
interior of that house. There Is not an
artists studio in town that compares
with 1t. Nowhere, from one room to the
other, was there one EARRING color or one
homogeneous piece of drapery or carving.
couldn't believe they'd had decorator
at it-those men always leave their
stamp on every thing-yet you could SEQ
the person who had arranged the place
knew the whole business. I compli-
mented one OF the aunts on it, and sho
said her nephew had fixed it. He had
wonderful taste-he had bought every
thing and always arranged it himself
THAT was tho first surprise. The
second was whom they took me into q
little sort OF breakfast-room-ls suppose
you call ito have something to eat.
1t was little eight-sided room, with
low bookcases built into the wall and
round mirrors set above them at inter-
walls. Standing ON the top of the shelves
were some water-color sketches in
plain frames. You know I'm some-
thing Of critic in water-colors, and my
brother-in-law, the artist has Guilt
waited my taste. Well, these things
were gems, so lucid, 80 clear, 50 fresh,
executed by some one whose force and
originality were stronger than their
This was my neph-
ew' again. never know he drew or
painted. He did it as he did every thing
quietly, never abiding to it.
He could make name for himself by it
to-day if he wanted"
go on--what else could he do? I'm
expecting to hear that he led ballet,
or invented patent medicine"
Not quite SO bad as that. But the
third shock was few evenings after,
when again went to his place to spend
some time with him hunting up more
books. He took me upstairs that time
to his rooms. He had a bedroom like
a monk and boudoir like girl, and
out of that study with a piano in it.
Heavens, you ought to have heard him
play on that piano! Schumann, Chopin,
Beethoven-l hardly ever heard such
playing. don't suppose it was so mar
velous-but 1t was so unexpccted-such
a shock to see this fellow, with his I'M
earthly face, playing away there like
Saint Cecilia. And later in the evening
he took me down into some dark
cubby hole in the bowels of the earth,
it seems to me. where there was an old
organ built into the wall, and there he
sat in the gloom with few candles
burning and played Bach till near mid
night. felt creepy down my spine, as
if l were in the company of wizard"
Ibid he ever have love affair.""
II don't believe so. think he
rather scorns women. They mostly
make fun of him, you know, and as he
knows his own worth it makes him
despise them. I've seen him snubbed
and openly made fool of by some
little Ounce of seventeen who thought
a young man who could play tennis was
the noblest work Of God. He never
seemed to notice her. But once saw
him take his revenge on girl in mas
terly style. 1t was that Robinson girl
you remember her; she was very
handsome and perfect COW. He was
herself by openly guying him when her
other admirers were around. One night,
at dance, he turned upon her-it was
all done in the most gentlemanly way
you can imagine and simply obliter-
ated heri in the most exquisitely delicate
and sarcastic manner ever heard.
She was knocked out, couldn't think of
any answer, and he bowed and walked
away think she must have told the
other girls, for I've noticed they are
careful of offending him NOW.
But she was mean enough to take
her revenge on him in her own way
the spiteful way that a woman only
understands. A little while after that
scene at the dance l went to see her,
and, in the course of the visit, she said:
Did you ever know Mr.. Tompkins
wrote poetry?' didn't know it. Well,
she got out of portfolio some sonnets
and things he had written to her. I'm
not as good a Judge Of them as am Of
the water-colors, but they seemed to
me something wonderful. / wouldn't
have believed he'd written them If
hadn't heard him play and seen his
paintings. had got to the point
where nothing that he did could have
surprised me. II some one had said to
me: DO you know they say that ape
headed Tompkins is the author Of
''Paradise Lost" or was the real
sculptor of the Bartholdi Liberty /
would have relieved them. He's WON
der, and all his world takes him for a
fool"