The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-08-28
Mr.. DOUGLASS At HOME
The Distinguished Colored Gentle-
man Enjoys His Time at His
Pleasant Home.
Some Of the Gems In His Library.
That Is Extensive ana
Well Stocked.
He links That pugilist Peter Jackson
II = Great MISUNDERSTANDING
Some Great Events.
Written for The HELENA INDEPENDENTLY

written for THE HELENA INpEPKNpkNr.l
Gust BEYOND THE EASTERN
al branch, ON the outskirts Of WASH
- ington, smboweted in . magnificent
cluster of oaks which have withstood tho
fierce tempests OF many winters, 10 the
home OF Frederick Douglass.
Few names in Amsriosn history are ssr-
rounded with more Of the romance that de-.
lights the youthful and instructs the old than
That OF this man, born q slave on the eastern
shore OF Maryland three quarters of . GEN.
tury ago. He has been the cen tor Of svsry
vioissitude. The %confdante Of WiIliam
Lloyd Garrison. he was none the less the
peer Of Wendell Phillips in the oratory
which aroused the public conscience to
its sense of duty. and led ultimately 10 the
enfranchisement of . race. He was pyes-
emit, practically. At the birth of aRaress-
i've anti-slavery agitation; he watched
With interest the birth of the free
soil party, and when The republican party
first saw tho light of day. with it, face set
firmly against the further extension of slavs
territory and the insolsnt domination Of
the slave power. he clapped his hands for
joy, a. does the devout Moslsm when he Arat
sees the royal sun CLINT she westcrn hills
With prisms that outshine the lustre Of the
diamond.
As a slave he first gained his freedom b.
strategy. Az an orator in the anti-slavery
convention he spoke az ono having author-
ity-.ss one into whose soul had entered the
steel OF nnnttsrable sorrows. As Q freeman
and a citizen the respect OF mankind has
been heaped upon his head and public
trusts of great honor havs bsen laid
in his lap by = grateful party and
sanctioned BY tho approving amsns
of a great nation; in his old age, with bis
wife and children and grandchildren about
his labors. a. one who has borne the heat
and the burden of the day, in q villa that
is one of the finest and most desirable in
the republic, a villa whose original pro-
p~ristor stipulated in the deed Of transfer
that tho property should never he owned bv
. descendant Of the African race.
Fred Douglass 10 q venerable. . pictur-
esque and an historic character, In whom
the general public will always have . certain
interest.
Il am an old man now" said MI. Doug
lass, - ne looked afar over the navy yard
and rested his vision on the towering shaft
of the Warrington monument outlined
against the southern sky. From this van
tags ground l have q magnificent view Of
the most magnificent city on the continent,
ban l vAVwS n100s TAG AA0tVEy VI tQ0 0O00SfY
for half q century ~ we'll % the history 90
it transpires from day to day.
"How do l spend my timer I rise at i've
In the morning. walk over my grounds and
spend most of the day in answering . large
co~.tespondsnos. in reading my favsrite
for a newspaper or . magazine. In the
afternoon I usually 90 for Z drive.
"Who are my favorite authors? Among
the poets; Shakespeare. Byron. burns.
BRYANT, Whittier and LonRfellow: Among
erables" and "ThHe Toilers 81 the Sea-"
the works Of Sir Walter Scott, espscialiv
'Ivanhoe;" Charlotte Bronte and Alexander
Dumas, especially "Ths Nusketssrs"
and THE Count of Monte Cristo."
have F5enoh edition Of the
prize. regard Theodore D. Yields
Slavery As II. Is' as the most powerful work
Of its kind written in the anti-slavezy cause.
OF oourse, I also read those things in eur
rent literature OF oontemporaneous inter-
social and political science. Oh. yes; I
find plenty to occupy my time. There are
plenty of d. auRhts upon il. I can assure you.
How long have lived here? I have
lived in Washington twenty years, fifteen
here I lived at New Bedford three years; a.
Lynn, five; At Rochester, twenty-five.
II was first married ffty-four years ago."
said Mr.. Douglass. my first wife died
ten years ago, and two years thereafter I
look upon my life. 90 = whole. while it has
some Tough places. in it. as having been
sineularly happy"
MIR. Douglass is somewhat Of q violinist,
He learned to manipulate the instrument
in mis- youth. When the young folks Of
Hill home. a. they often do. he frequently
accompanies some expert pianist Of them
with the violin TO the general Satisfaction
of his guests. Nj. Douglass 10 very fond
OF young people and their society. His
musical gifts. and is not only = urofs.-
sional violinist, but has written some az
oellent scores. Joseph 10 Mr.. Douglass'
favorite grandchild,
Mr.. Douglass laughingly Acknowledged
that in his youth he was guilty. Of psrps-
tratina some verse, all of which was de-
sttoyed whom the files Of his paper we're
burned. In the white heat of the anti
slavery agitation he wrote a poem. only one
stanza of which he could recall. This he
cited to me in q voice and accumulation
give the stanza here:
The pathway of tyrant. is over volcanoes:
The very air they breathe is heavy with SORROWS;
Asoniaing heart tbrobs c~onvulse them while
sleeping,
And the wind whispers death as over them
In his extensive and select library saw
splendid busts Of Feusrbach and Strauss,
One OF the most Striking sngravings on
the walls of the library 10 one Of Joseph
Cincque, the chief of the Amistad captivss,
An etching OF Wendell Phillips whom he
was n young man 10 much priced by Mr..
Douglass as a personal gift from the great
orator. A steel engraving Of William Lloyd
Garrison at thirty-fvs and Of Charles Sum
ner at thirty attract the eye al once, a.
does also one Of James G. Birnsy, the fore
runner Of John c. Fremont and Abraham
Lincoln. A has relief Of Dante overlooks
all the pictures on the wall, including one
or Elizabeth Cady Stanton, bearing . strik-
ing resemblance TO tho irst Lord Chatham.
Mr.. Douglass was particular TO point out to
me = rich but modest picture Of the home
of John q. Whittier Al Haverhill.
"Don't forget Peters PICTURE" exclaimed
Mr.. Douglass.
Which PeterT' / asked. r
why. Peter jackson, Of course" said
Mr., Douglass, admiringly gazing upon the
massive proportions Of the Afro-Austraiian
~pugilist. II consider him one of the best
missionaries abroad"
Assthe silver moon lifted her horus above
the romantic hills of Maryland, l turned
away from the delightful arcadia of the
sage Of Anacosta and soon buried myself in
the heat and tho f~ruitless ambitions OF the
nations capital. marvsllinQ whether the
repose Of old age be not preferable to the