The Saint Paul globe., 1896-12-20

Copyrighted. 1896. by Frank G. Carpenter.)
WASHINGTON, d. c., Dec. It.
Uncle Remus" is one of the saints of
The Holiday Season." He is almost
S much a part of cur children's lives
IS Santa Claus. and l cannot give a
5etter Christmas letter than the story
# my visit to him at his home in At
anita, Ga, a few days, ago.
Joel Chandler Harris for that you
Know is the real name of the writer of
he Uncle Remus'' stories. is even
more delightful than his books. He is
lot handsome man, but his manners
are SO gentle and his talk so simple
and wholesome, that you fall in love
with him at once. His hair is Of fiery
red. After you know him it seems to
turn to gold. His homely features,
which / would venture would stop the
traditional clock, become transfigured
by his healthy. happy soul shining out
through them when he talks, and
makes them almost beautiful 1 wish
you could hear Uncle Remus" laugh.
He is, you know, short and rather fat,
and when anything amuses him his ro-
tund form shakes like a bowl of jelly,
and his "Ha. Ha! Ha!" rings forth in
as clear tones as those of the boy to
whom the 'Brer Rabbit" and Tar
Baby" story was told for the first time.
He is. however, painfully modest. He
is always depreciating himself. and
during my chat he told me he could not
realize why people thought so much of
his stories He is especially backward
in the presence of women. He is more
bashful now at forty-five than he was
as boy, and L doubt whether he knows
any woman very intimately except his
wife. He is. you know, a newspaper
man as we'll as an author. He is con-
nected with the Atlanta Constitution,
and for years he did his editorial work
at the office of the paper Now he does
it all at home. Since he became famous
the female curiosity seekers from the
North, in passing through Atlanta,
have attempted to call and visit him.
When they entered his room his tongue
seemed to cling to the roof of his
mouth and at last, to get rid of them.
he transferred his work to his home.
He never goes into society; seldom at
tends the theater. and his delight is
in his work and in his, home
WHERE UNCLE REMUS'' LIVES.
The house of Uncle Remus" is an
ideal one. 1t is a rambling Queen Anne
cottage, containing about nine rooms.
all OF which are on one floor Below
this there is a basement and above il
an attic, and about it runs a vino
covered porch big enough to hold "Brer
Rabbit and all his friends. should
they happen to call. 1t is in one of the
prettlest suburbs of Atlanta. and still
1t has big enough yard to make it
q sort of country estate, as well as a
city home. 1t contains more than five
acres of land and its surroundings are
tnose of farm. We walked back
through the fields before we entered
the house to look at the donkies which
the young Harris children ride, and TO
pat the two beautiful yellow Jersey
COWS, which are among Mrs Harris
pets. There is a big chicken yard just
back of the house, and a lot of brother
and sister chickens were running to
and fro as We looked through the net
ting. Uncle Remus' took an almost
childish delight in showing me his pos
sessions. He pointed out his big straw
berry bed, where he raises the most
luscious fruit, and told me how his
asparagus was ready for the table at
the first of the season. We walked
among his flowers and spent some time
i is now almost winter, are still bloom
ng. He has, l venture. more than one
hundred rose bushes, and he told me
that he had in his garden siXty-seven
different varieties. He said he would
aaye a thousand If he were rich
enough, and as l saw him handle the
lowers | could see that he loved them
We sat moment on the porch and
hen entered the wide hall, which runs
through the house and into which the
living rooms open. At the back is the
oarlOr, and at the left the sitting room
and work shop. There is nothing OF
the machinery of newspaper editor
Or literary man to be seen. Uncle
Remus" uses but few books in his
work. A pencil and a few strips Of
blank printing paper are all that are
needed to make the Uncle Remus''
stories.
Mr.. Harris handles these, and with
his short stub pencil touches the
hearts and tickles the sides of millions
He does his writing with his family
about him, and his best stories have
been written with baby at his elbow
HOW 'REMUS" WAS WRITTEN.
Mr.. Harris is fond of children. He
has been told thousands of times how