The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-02-04


and finish giving out their valentines?
(To be concluded)
A MAN WITH A SECRET.
Peculiar ScclusiOn of Charles Gcttinss in
q Model iIomc-lIe Is Genius. Remark.
ably Compnnionablc and Fond of Lite
ature, but Prefers to be Alone Curious
Inventions. Magnificent Furniture and
Paintings and Relics Fill the Home of
Ills Own Construction-ilcN Never Talks
of MatrimOny.
From the Pittsburg Times.
In the little village of Manown. two
miles above Monongahela City, lives
Charles Gettings, an eccentric recluse.
who for Il years has gone little beyond
the narrow confines of his palace-like
home. While not exactly a hermit. he
has found the greatest happiness in
his own company and in the loneliness
of his own home None of the charac-
teristic disregard of the hermits haven
for tdiness and cleanliness are to be
found i'm Getting's mansion, nor are
visitors or prying eyes unwelcome to
the eccentric owner The house, reared
and fitted with his own hands. Is pala-
tial in its furnishings, and is teeming
with the product of his genius and
skill. Strangers always find the latch
string without and a hearty welcome
within. but the many who have crossed
the threshold of the little paradise
have been carefully siftcd for character
imperfectiOns.
GettinSS is Il religious enthusiast and
everywhere his reverence for the divine
is plainly displayed He Is 4 moral
and eccentric recluse. and in his little
home he remains as happy and con-
tented as any monarch that ever
reigned. He was born in Pittsburg in
1853, and his hardness as a boy with
tools naturally made him, in succession
u blacksmith, an engineer on the Lake
Erie railroad and eventually a carpen-
ter and designer of children toys.
These he revels in and visitor can
scarcely enter the hospitable home
without seeing him creating some
mythical being from shapeless block
of wood
lie Is Handsome and Happy.
Gettings is physically of fine appear
ance and pleasing as Il conversational
list His life is Il happy one in his linn
tied circle. and he is his own baker,
and housekeeper and his own compan-
ion. His life is naturally wrapped up
i'm his curious relics and these he guards
and cares for AS though they We're his
family. He is always busy, AMI his
scrap book, representing twenty years
of. patient toll teens with interesting
bits on every conceivable subject He
dabbleS somewhat in poetry. and a
touching tribute to his mother. who
died i'm Steubenville. O.. in 1873, hangs
in "a conspicuous place In his home
His mind seems to be saturated with
quotations from modern sentimental
poets. and he delights In repeating his
favorite verses.
His workshop is as tidy as house
wife's kitchen and the walls are as
tastefully and artistically decorated
with artificial flowers and handsome
paintings AZ though placed there by
deft feminine hands. Biblical quota
tions and religious sayings hang in pro-
fusion on the walls. and i'm his hand
Somely furnished drawing room on the
second floor are many beautiful pieces
of furniture made by himself.
Has u Curious Museum.
Puzzles in profusion, in a bewilder-
ment of patterns and Of difficult solu-
tiOn lie on the center table with an
artistic disregard for arrangement.
Small portraits. skillfully arranged to
conceal the woodwork, line one side
of the stairway and an immense heart
shaped wreath, composed of over 400
vanished buckeyes and crowned with
beads and artificial flowers. hangs sus-
pended from the ceiling. His odd ways
are shown in his construction during
a period of three years of Il winding
panorama one mile in length OF por-
! traits clipped from magazines. Moth
ing delights Gettings more than to un-
roll this creation of a curious hobby
and relate tn the visitor as the unwind
| ing progresses the history of each slip
, and the object it represents. Boxes of
German toys, glassware, vases and
| other curious collections are arranged
| here and there with remarkable re-
| gard for tidinesS in the pretty draw
| ing room and articles that many would
| not notice or consider as of any value
| are carefully cherished and given a
position of honor among his other
| treasures.
The parlor is also revelation: and
here too. are placed the results of years
| of collecting. Glass balls of all shapes
and colOrs hang together from the CELL
! ing i'm such a manner as to reflect the
| brilliancy and variation of.the rainbow
to the walls and floor. Pyramidal
forms, composed Of hundreds of tiny
| shells cut in fantastic shapes and join
|
800 mussel shells and 800 snail shells are
| thus arranged.
His Fancy Turns to Religion.
One peculiar figure illustrates the
| skill and at the same time the strange
| eccentricity of the recluse. The statue
of an angel. looking down upon a
kneeling minister, each with scrolls
with Biblical quotations, Is carved with
exquisite skill and pictures the relig-
ious ideals of the maker. Triumphal
| arches carved from walnut and repre-
senting architecturally the Roman
| arch of Titus, and resembling the
| arches of the Place du Carrousel, in
Paris, are attractive features of the
room. Birds with uplifted heads. sus-
pended in rings from the ceiling, repre-
sent the attitude Of praising God ac-
cording to Getting's idea. The furni-
ture of the parlor surpasses that of the
drawing room and the paintings on
the wall, the handiwork of the eccen.
trio genius. are really works of art. A
symphonic, capable of playing 10t
tunes. and variety of musical instru-
ments reveal the artistic tendencies OF
the lonely dweller. Most of the tunes
are religious selections and hymns. and
these are naturally his favorites.
lie Has Hidden Secret.
The luxury of the home and the pol.
ish and genius of the occupant natu.
rally create the query why he should
hide himself from the world. His apa.
thy to conversations touching on mat.
rimony and his habit of Invariably
changing the subject when these mat.
ters are broached. leads to the belief
that some love affair caused his retire.
| 10 nnnf ha a total ItoItLe