The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-01-30
WELL KNOWN PERSONS.
Anecdote and "Reminiscences.


Some criticism was aroused in Mary
land year ago by the appointment of
woman, Mrs. Anne B. Jeffers, as the
State Librarian. But she has justified
the appointment by the admirable way in
which she has fulfilled the duties of the
Office. "Her success" says The Balti-
more American, lis another proof of
the fact that in work of this kind wo-
man can prove herself fully as capable as
a man. Her years work is to her credit,
and proves that no error was made by the
Governor when he named her for Office
Donald G. Mitchell, who is known to
the reading public as elk Marvel, - auth
or of the delightful "Reveries of Bach
elor'' and Dream Life,' spends his de-
clining years quietly at Edgewood, near
New Haven, Conn. Surrounded by his
books, his garden, and his forest he is
happy and contented in the memories of
a well-spent life. In personal appearance
he is about the average height some
what stout, with broad shoulders. He
has a gentle face, with kindly blue eyes,
and soft white whiskers. He has no fads
or fancies, but has a horror of being
written up in the newspapers.
When Gen. U. S. Grant was cadet
at West Point, he had an old French pro-
fessor who had very peculiar notions. He
had great respect for Emperor Napoleon,
and in honor of him he called one of his
French classes after his famous guard
Lies Immortels, - but this class, of which
Gen. Grant was member, was the stu
pidest and worst 10 French in the acade-
my. One of the officers asked the Profess
sor why he should call stupid class with
such an honored title as Lies Immor-
tells. - "Well," the Professor said, with
a shrug of the shoulders, ''you can very
well see for yourself that they are 'laz-y
NOR tells"
1t is commonly supposed that Mr.
Chamberlain is the greatest amateur or
child grower in the world; but this is far
from being the case. His collection is
worth from seventy-fve thousand to one
hundred thousand dollars. The collection
of the dowager empress of Germany,
however, is worth nearly double that of
Mr.. Chamberlain. Miss Alice Rothschild
is most enthusiastic horticulturist, her
collection of roses alone being valued at
fifty thousand dollars. The Archduke
Joseph, of Austria, owns two hundred
thousand dollars worth of flowers. w,
w. Astor recently paid six thousand dol
lars to an English grower for the stock of
a single variety of rose-tree.
Almost the last work that Sir Edwin
Landseer was engaged on was life-sized
picture, of Nell Gwynn, passing through
an archway ON white palfrey. This
picture, in which the horse alone was
| finished, was bought by one of the Roths-
child family, and given to Sir John Mil
lais to complete. One morning a cele-
brated art critic called, and was much
impressed by this work. "Ah, to be
sure, " he said, going up close and exam
lining a deeIhound, which almost breathed
in the foreground of the picture, chow
easily one can recognize Landseer's dogs !
| Wonderful, isn't itl'' YES, it is won :
| derful, remarked Sir John, lighting an
other pipe. "l finished painting that dog
Yesterday morning, and have done the
! whole of it myself! "-Magazine of Art.