The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-07-17
THE BUNGALOW.
Ella Wheeler Wilcoxs Summer Home
at Short Beach.

And in this cosy nest are Iouhu'
Quite naturally, indeed, two olros'
The above doggerel, scrawled in
bold, firm hand over name well
known in the literary world, and upon
an autograph tabecover which adorhs
one of the many ables of The Bunga-
low" is faithful pen picture OF the
pretty cottage at Short Beach, Conn,
where Ella Wheeler Wilcox, the poet
ess, lives from May till late october OF
each year with her aged mother, de-
voted husband and charming circle
of interesting people. The Vlne-coVer-
ed cottage, perched high upon DUH
overlooking Long Island sound, is
rightly named THE Bungalow" for
it's peculiar style of architecture, It's
odd interior decorations and collec-
ton Of curios from the world over
suggest more than anything else an
Oriental home. Around three sides OF
the Nest extends the broad porch;
Mrs. Wilcox calls it her "open-alr
drawing ROOM" for here upon pleasant
days tea is served at o'clock to the
weird fascinating music of the wind
harps, brought thither from the shores
of the Baltic to be played upon by either
Zephyros or his sterner brother Boreas,
the one touching the strings lightly, soft
and sweet as a babys breath, while the
other, in harmony with the sea, strikes
chords that suggest its wild, turbulent
| murmuring. Upon this porch, seated at
an old oak table whereon are cut in fan
tastic hieroglyphics the names Of Mrs
! Wilcox's guests novelsts, dramatists,
| poets, artists and prominent stage folk
| the world over the poetess loves to write
| and many of her happest poems have
| been written at that very table their
| rhythm a sort of accompaniment to the
music of the wind harps and the sea.
Mrs, Wilcox is, if l may be permitted
| to use the term, an inspired writer, ana
| though the house be filed with merry,
| light hearted guests, with, countless
| questions and interesting stories, when
the spirit proves they are of another
world, and the poet, at her desk or the
table seizes her pen, and deaf to all
save the Muse, dashes off verse after
verse until with a sigh the pen is thrown
aside and another sweet song has been
/ sung 10 ne ScIl pul IliAp liiNl WV w ~
gladden. the hearts of her countless ad-
mirers.
The world, so it seems to me, Graves,
and quite naturally, to know something
about public personages. especially when
such one is a writer who has helped
us in different phases of our life by the
magic of her pen. To those who have
not the pleasure of Mrs. Wilcoxs &C
uuaintance let me say that she Is dis
tinctly womau's woman, and to help
one of her sex along the stony path to a
broader and more useful life Is one OF
her hobbies. She is never happier than
when she is helping some poor, strug-
Cling woman to find Gods sunshine
again. and to her warm, responsive ma
ture many women owe their self respect
to-day, while to her untiring efforts
may be recorded many successes in the
field of poetry, art and the drama.
As a writer Ella Wheeler Wilcox GER
tainly stands we'll to the front among
the latter-d day poets, and her dainty nov
els in verse, ''Maurine' and The Three
Women" should make her name a
household word. They are worldly yet
forceful betraying in one breath tht
woman in the next the philosopher
while between every one of the melo'
dious lines runs strong moral.
Mrs. Wilcox was not born with a sill
yer spoon in her mouth, but one might
say that she was born with pen II
her hand, for she lisped rhymes when {
mere baby and when only eight years
old astonished her mother with collec
ton of verses far beyond her years. A
fourteen she was a regular contributor
to the New York Mercury, writing
ANONYMOUSLY and without renumera
e ton, and at sixteen the happy posses
sor of a check for 500 sent her TO
few temperance poems Gale
Drops of Water" At that time she be
gan to place her poems with the Leading
3 magazines and was able to furnish he
home with many comforts with tn
money earned by her pen. Shells wa
the title Of her first collection of poems
published before she was twenty, AM
for which she received little save bite
dieappointment Later she offere
"Maurine," which was at first misun
y derstood and caused her many unhal
. by hours With heavy heart and tn
i feeling that the only place for her IN IN
literary world was a humble corner
Mrs Wilcox published Poems OF Pas
: sion" a volume of verse depicting hu
man nature as she had found it, and I'm
y mediately the blind saw, the critic
praised and condemned, and the littl
book ran like wldfire through man
G editions, and day sixteen years latel
q it retains its wonderful popularity an
: brings the gifted woman snug income
As a writer of prose Mrs Wilcox migh
easily make her presence felt, for in ne
Il ! one published novel, AN Ambition
Man" the hand of the master SHOWS II
self, and its terse epigrams may be rea
and digested with profit, for example
l. "The pessimist belongs to GODS mlsf
counter ITO forget benefits we nav
= received is crime. To remember bene
fits we have bestowed is greater one;
= and again-''Tt is not the interior
ones house, but the interior OF one
mind that makes home with all
her successes the gifted little woman,
utterly without conceit, and is as easll
pleased as a child at any marx OF a
probation. A tirless worker, full of II
domitable energy and perseverance,
the charming hostess of THE Bungi
y low. Jane Marlin in Meriden Journa
a TO SWIM THIRTY MILES.
Professor John w. Glenister, t
1;-tp GU