The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-09-24
A CHURL SOCIALLY.
Henrik Ibsen Is a
Two-sided Man
of Letters.
POSEUR, MISANTHROPE.
POSEUR, MISANTHROPE.
AS Much an Enigma to His
Countrymen As
to Others.

fndisputably the most picturesque
figure in contemporary old world litera-
ture, Henrik Ibsen is at once an in
veterate poseur and misanthrope,
writes Perriton Maxwell, in the Book
Buyer. Nor does he care if all the
world, pointing its finger at him, ex-
claims sour old man" so that it no
tees him at all. He breads the pos
sibility of any one passing him without
recognition. He loves the gaze of the
crowd as he loves his daily tipple of
brandy and soda. He is on record as a
reveller in 3essimism for its own sad
sake, and he is as outs9oken in his
dislike of strangers as he is anxious
that they should cape at him and com
4 ment on his personal appearance.
Ihsen, great genius and sociological
scholar that he is. has acquired in his
later years the. small vices Of vain
child; he-is an intellectual peacock.
70 visit Christiania and not see DR..
Henrik Ibsen would be like touring
Egypt and missing a sight of the
SPHINX and pyramids. He is the most
4 interesting perSonaage in the Nor
Wegian capital-and Ibsen before any
one IS conscious of the fact Down the
Karl Johanns Gade to the Grand Hotel
ne walks every day, rain or shine;
when the weather is particularly invit-
ing ne pays two daily visits to the
motel. On such days he appears pune
tually at in the afternoon and again
az In the evening. Ibsen is above all
thlngs a methodical man. His life is
ruled by the clock. He has his own table
In the gallery overlooking the garden
and the minute he arrives, a mute but
wel-trained waiter places before the
shaggy. philosopher a bottle of brandy
ana announcer of soda. This is the au-
tnof faVorite stimulant and two
glasses OF the liquor his limit at a sit
ing. With the care of a druggist com
pounding prescription, he measures
ana mikes his drink, which he sins a
swallow at a time, with such perfect
regularity that one can tell off by his
Acuon the lapse of each five minutes
with no recourse to a timepiece. These
daily libations seem to be the one : con-
ISOLATION that life affords to Henrik
1Dse- whose ingrained melancholy i'm
presses itself on all who get near
enough to him to converse informally
recently 1t was borne in upon this
observing old man that those who
naunted the public cafe of the Grand
f1otel We're, in the main, his own fell
anu IIldJ IL he was tt
Pe seen by travelling Englishmen
americans, Ffenohmen, Germans and
ltallans, it would be necessary to take
up mis- post in the hotel proper. Ac-
cordingly, he chose for himself a table
IN conspicuous part of the gallery
which oyerlooks the big garden, where
all foreigners take their dinners. and
mus 1t was possible to be "the observed
OF all observers" with no fear of be-
s. lng approached or inveigled into con
versation.
Having taken his seat. the dean of
modern Morse literature arranges his
newspapers, his hat, his speetacles. with
AL the BUSINESS of a stage spinster
Slx pairs of eyeglasses are laid out in
q row on the table. For every para
graph he reads, he places a fresh pair
OF glasses on his nose, always paus-
ing to polish them and hold them to the
light: AS he reads his newspaper. ap-
parently absorbed in its contents. a
close observer will detect the old mans
eyes rowing from. the printed page in
the direction of the people who are
looking his way. He is a sly old ras-
cal, this Ibsen. If ladies are among
those who are watching him, the rudy
face is at once lit up with the radiance
of self satisfaction. 1t is an i'll day for
1bsen and the Grand Hotel when for
Ci5lCASl eiIc Lew III lIle But Id
sen is rarely without an audience, and
the more this audience stares and hut-
tiers, the more luminous becomes the
old mans countenance. All this seems
incredible; it is the fact, and in the
fact you have the real Ibsen. Few
great men are admirable off their ped
estals; Ibsen is less so, perhaps, than
any OF his contemporaries
DR. Ibsens life has been unhappy
~lf rI,s1
success has come to him abundantly in
his later days, it has come too late. He
no longer has the capacity for enjoying
the fame and wealth that are his He
must needs fall back upon himself for
the greatest qualification Of his per-
sonal desires. His wllims and fads cir
Gle wholly around himself, and the cir
Gle is a narrow one. AS a lad in the
unattractive town of Skien--his native
place-Ibsen's life was sunless and DOW
erty- pinched. Till lac was past middle
age he gained neither countenance nor
encouragement in his own land indeed
he was deemed man of no ability at
all, His work was derided, and over
each new day hung the pail of bitterest
adversely. His domestic life has not
been aahappy one, and he is unaccount-
ably estranged from his only son-Dr.
Sigurd Ibsen-whom he once adored
He is today, as Norwegian wealth is
estimated, a very rich man. He is worth
probably 100000. That is princely
fortune in Norway. Ibsen does not
know what to do with all this money.
so he boards it; boards it with the
jealous care of a nliser, and trusts NO
one even in the most trif1ing financial
transactions.
6 In the face of his cloudy past it is not.
therefore, surprising that Henrik Ibsen
is misanthropic and shrouded in his
own conceit. With so little that is gem
timely joyous in his life, there is moth
ing left but the creature comforts and
the superficial adulation of few sight
seeing foreigners. Fame-even in lit
erature--is surely not founded on the
hasty scrutiny of ones person by a
handful of Cooks tourists but this sort
of thing brings complacence to the
mind of Henrik Ibsen
Knowing that the moment he leaves
his house in Christiania he will become
the centre of interest along the streets.
he is always careful to dress for the oc-
casion 1t would add another wrinkle
to his brow to discover button missing
from his coat or a blur on the beaver
OF his tall silk hat. He is the Brummel
of Morse letters. His clothes are made
Of broadcloth Of fine texture; his tailor
is the best in Christiania He always
wears a tile Of metallic smoothness.
His boots are of patent leather. Toilet
articles he carries about with him al
ways and everywhere. and frequently
he brings them into requisition in the
most public places. While on exhibition
In the hotel garden in full view Of a
cosmopolitan throng 1t is no uncommon
act for him to take from his pocket a
comb or brush and caressingly stroke
his famous white whiskers, or lift to a
greater height his equally famous white
pompadour docks, standing straight UP