The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-05-02

history. Among them are most of the
standard novels, though very few or the
novelists of the present period find a place
among them. An exception is made OF
Stanley j. Weyman, all of whose books are
upon the shelves. Nearly everything that
has ever been written about the Ottoman
empire is there. A whole section is devoted
to military textbooks, and another IS given
up TO works on diplomacy and international
law. In another section are found copies of
"Ben-Hur" translated in no less than a
dozen different languages, the most inter-
esting being a copy in Arabic.
Above the bookcases the walls are tinted
a light olive up to the cornice. Above the
cornice begins a deep ultra-marine that
fades away into faint azure as it APP
proaches the skylight of stained glass, thus
giving the impression of a measurable
space.
The floor is of modern mosaic, almost
hidden with rich Oriental rugs scattered
over it. In the center stands an enormous
fiat desk of oak and bronze, and a few
handsome chairs and divans complete the
furniture. Scattered about upon the man
tel and on top of the bookcases are bronzes,
narghiles, bits of sculpture in bas-relief and
Oriental treasures of various kinds, ar
ranged in artistic disorder, while above the
bookcases the walls are relieved by a num-
Der of good pictures. The molding that
divides the walls from the ceiling and that
surrounding the skylight are studded with
an hundred electric lights, and the effect
of the illumination when all are turned on
is wonderfully brilliant. A door of heavy
oak leads from the south porch to the room
and another leads out to the terrace and
water landing from the north, Another
leads to the alcove at the northwest corner,
and here General Wallace has a habit Of
surprising visitors by gently drawing from
a concealed slide an enormous mirror of
plate glass that completely fills the door
way. He rather enjoys the effect of seeing
his lady visitors begin to touch up their
hair and comets as soon as they discover
this mirror.
WALLACE9S DAILY LIFE.
To this temple of the muses. General Wal
lace betakes himself Immediately after
breakfast and works steadily for two hours
and a half at the novel he now has in the
course of composition. AS he breakfasts at
Z o'clock, his hours of labor are over by
1920, and he has the rest of the day to him
self, except on the two days of the week
when his son Henry runs over from Indi-
annapolis and they devote a couple of hours
to going through accumulated mail. This is
no small affair, for General Wallace's mail
is very heavy and contains all imaginable
sorts of letters. Those from his old COM
rades Of the war and from particular per-
sonal friends he answers in his own hand
that looks like copperplate engraving. But
for the great bulk of the letters he indi-
Gates the answers and his son brings them
back to Indianapolis and dictates the replies
to a s-tenographer.
1t is in the evening, when he can sit in
the temple surrounded by three or four of
his friends and exchange "reminiscences
that General Wallace is at his best and
happiest. The other night when a party of
us visited him he took keen delight in
showing and explaining to US the beauties
of his temple. He is in love with every
thing in it, from the presents given him by
the Sultan of Turkey to the convenient ar
rangement he has for opening the ventilat-
ing windows at the top of the roof by turn
ing little nickle-Dlated cranks and the other
little device by which he regulates the heat
of the furnace. simply by turning a button
that rests beneath a thermometer incased
in artistic bronze work. In his enthusiasm
ne opened his heart completely and showed
a few paintings by his own hand. done
twenty years ago. He even went further
and took up one of his priceless treasures,
a violin that has descended to him through
ancestors $50 years back. He is not a vio-
linist, but he can fiddle" and regaIed US
will the Gray Eagle and one or two good
old Hoosier tunes.
S M. SEEDS