Morning journal and courier., 1894-01-02

logs cracked and blszed and threw out |
cheerful light No brass fire dogs; plain,
Did fashioned iron ones. No marble; plain |
stone, blaokened by the years. A fireplace
withsl to make one think. Occasionally
The host would give the logs shaking
With his iron longs. making the tongues
Of fame leap high up, the light chasing the
wholesome that 1t ia feast to look upon
It, and setting off the snow-white beard
with q reddish tinge. He leaned his head
upon his hand, shutting out the soft light
of his students lamp and leaving his whole
to the freight and tie eyes
of his visitor. He has a nose like Robert
. smile like DR.. Holiness His
chin is strong and square, his mouth very
firm. His eyes, sunk under the heavy eye
brows, are the eyes of dreamer. He con-
stsntly runs bis hands through his thick
silver hair, keeping it back from his broad,
high forehead, which possesses scarcely
wrinkle. 1t IL such face as ones fancy
ascribes to that good man, the Bishop of
Two great windows let the southern sun
shine into the room by day. Between
them is q sort of bracket. made of the
small limbs of trees just as they were
taken from the woods. 1t holds nothing
but . small bust of Shakespeare. Vines
entwine the easements. Two great boxes
of flowers are underneath each window.
Upon one il painted In white, "Fairest
flowers while Summer LASTS" and upon
the other, "Furried moss when flowers are
rare"
Over the fireplace Is the painting of q
very beautiful woman, in a gown of the
early part of this century. It is his
mother. Praise of her beauty pleases him
far more than praise of his writings. She
died just as he left college, bis father hsv-
ing gone before her by some fifteen years.
Perhaps to this great affection is due the
sadness which one reads between the lines
of "Dream Life" and "Rsveries of q
Bachelor" A gum is lying upon the
antlers of the head of a deer suspended
upon the wall. The visitor suggests that
he can hardly be of q sufficiently destruc-
tive nature to make q good hunter. "No;
am no hunter" he replied: "The gun
| IL q fint-look musket which saw service
in the Revolution. But I have killed q
great many trout in my time. enjoy
fishing very much. Whenever I go to my
old home in the eastern part of the state,
I spent few days fishing in the streams
where fished in my boyhood days"
Underneath the library shelves, which
extend across two sides of the room, are
large oaken drawers where he keeps his
papers. The books largely deal with agri.
culture and medieval history, and there
are great many dictionaries. A volume
of Webster il lying open upon the rack.
II always liked q good dictionary" he
said. That he has m'de good use of it IL
proved by the exaetness and purity of the
Anolish in all of his writings. The only
attempt at color In ohio room Il. a z'sz-s
streak of gilt which runs along the edges
of the library shelves.
The copyright has lately run out on the
''Rsveries of Bachelor" and as a result
some ten or twelve cheap editions have
been issued in different parts of the coun.
try. While he is glad to find that the
original has not been eviscerated, as is the
care with many eminent works of . greater
length, he said:
81 should never have known about these
piratioal editions unless a friend had sent
copies of them to me. Isuppose have nc
right to call them piratical, yet feel that
way, you know. ! cannot help it,"
Among other things the Times article
Occasionally he lectures at Yale, or,
rather, 'aives . talk" Yale, his Alma
Mater, is very dear to him, and this e.
plains why he chose his home 80 near New
Haven instead of in eastern Connecticut,
where he spent his younger days.
cts . great pity" he said, in speaking
of Yale, "that the college is 30 crsmped.
of the town several years sgo when the
propristy of doing so was under discussion.
Football. believe in exercise with all my
heart But I think the athletes of our
colleges to-day are straining the point a
little"
II think that the failure OF most farm.
ers 10 due to the fact that they do not 60
to work in . scientific manner. They do
not study their soil or make any expert
ments, but follow the path their ancestors
have trod for two centuries. It is only of
late that We have learned that tobacco and
peaches can be grown in Connecticut"
No shooting il allowed at Edgewood.
Every bird IL q welcome visitor there save
tho saucy little English sparrow, which
drive the snow buntfngs away from the
city these winter days. In summer the
robins for miles around seem to make the
great white barn, the ivy upon the house,
and the trees at Edgewood their rendez-
vous. No musis ia SO sweet to the ears of
its owner a. the singing of the birds and the
twitter of the gray squirrels, who show
that they appreciate the liberties they are
allowed BY scampering around your feet. In
the woods, what times Mr.. Mitchell has
with his dumb companions, no one knows
ri: +. f nsS9% osn my t's
worth far more than tho cherries
and grapes they eat. Yes, will
trade the cherries for notes of the robin
any day, and feel that I am getting the
better Of tho bargain"
The seer of Edgewood is proud of his
ancestry. In the hall there hangs the COM
mission of his great.grsndfather, Donald
Grant Mitchell, for whom he was named,
- captain In the Revolutionary army,
signed by George Washington,
It is not improbable that Mr.. Mitchell
will sec many New Years yet. He is now
in the winter" of his 'fdream of life. !"
One wonders If he finds It as he fancied 1t
would be, and a. he pictured it with his
pen some forty years ago. He has his FIRE,
his armchair and his loving wife, and chill
drsn and grandchildren around him-and
al Of the time Is his to dream, If he wishes
It,"