The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-01-11
Julian Hawthorne in Philadelphia North
Americana

called in Concord) was one of the men
who seemed to give occasion for Pope's
apothegm that great wits to madness
sure are near allied. He was a man
of genius, but his mind moved in an
orbit so eccentric and whimsical, so
individual and independent, that the
easiest way to account for him was
by asserting that he was queer in his
intellect Thoreau was unlike other
people, but Ellery was so much more
unlike them than Thoreau that the
latter seemed commonplace in COM
parison.
And yet l do not for a moment i'm
agine that Ellery was mad He was
creature partly of innate proclivity
and partly of circumstances: and cir
cumstances in New England fifty years
ago lent themselves readily to the de
velopment of idiosyncracies. A man
could live as he pleased. Thoreau
thought that he could live without pay
ing taxes and actually went to the
town gaol rather than give up d dollar
or two for the privilege of occupying
the hut he built for himself beside
WaldenpOnd. But when he found that
Emerson, or somebody, always insisted
on paying his taxes for him. and thus
liberating him from his glorious inn
prisonment, he gave up the point and
thereafter paid his way in the COM
munity like other folks
Ellery Claiming never raised the tax
question. All he wanted was to be let
alone but he perceived from the start
that the way to secure that. end was TO
accommodate himself to established
laws. He never went to gaol but he
enjoyed solitude more complete than
if he had done so.
Wbar, no vOnnO man about
1916 and 1850 Che was born in 1879 he
was a fierce socialist. or even anarch-
list, in talk. He used language with
great freedom, and some of his letters
to intimate friends like my father, for
example, are models of picturesque
swearing at things in general. He
ragged against the fools of the world.
and included vast numbers of most
respectable persons under that desig-
nation. He wanted to go off, with a
few boon companions, to some remote
and lovely spot, some summer isle OF
Eden. and there wear out indolent
ages in wooing' his own soul and ami
madverting wittily on other human be-
ings. He never blew up anybody or
thing, however-dynamite had not, in
deed been invented at that epoch
and seemed satisfied to take out his i'll
humor-which was rather humor than
ill-humOr at bOttOm-ln what the local
native would call cussing.
People. of sense delighted in his dia-
tribes, and would draw him out on
the subject of the faults of the uni
verse, but he did not care to be any
body's laughing stock either. and ere
long restricted his thoughts to himself.
and to a very few trusty intimates. he
went abroad while still young, and de-
veloped a great love of art, and keen,
critical Judgment OF it; and he brought
home with him a number of things he
had picked up. many of which were OF
great value. These treasures he kept
about his house, and would take cut
one or another to study for few
days, then replacing II with something
else
He also had habit of knocking at
the door of a friend and offering him
picture or object of vertu of some kind.
often without saying a word. He would
place it in your hand and then Walk
off If you did not know your Ellery,
you might imagine he had made you
an out-and-outs~pr present of 1t. but IN
that you would mistake him. All ne
intended was that you should enjoy
the companionship of the thing for a
while-should be educated and Guilt
waited by it. and learn to live up to it,
and when he thought it had been with
you long enough to secure this end ne
would appear once more before you
and carry it away.
= o G, g
People made remarks about this pc
but after all, consider it the
most sensible way of communicating
ones treasures that ever I heard of.
You got the good of the thing, and yet
were not Durdened with the RESPONSE
bility Of owning it. To be sure, you
might lose it; that was too terrible a
to consider; nevertheless,
/ believe it did occasionally occur.
Naturally, Ellery never entrusted an
other gem to the same person; but, on
the other hand. he never complained.
He kept his thoughts to himself; he
must have had great capacity, for ne |
had many thoughts, and few persons
ever heard him pour them out. He
wrote poems-a few-but they were
good and indicated the mans calibre.
And when he did choose to talk, it was
worth while giving up any other occu-
patton to listen to him.
Often did [ see him when [ was a |
bow in Concord, walking along the |
lanes or through the woods, |
with his head bent low on his breast, |
his eyes bent on the ground, but evil
IDENTIFY seeing things in another world |
than ours. Usually he would pass you |
without looking up, though l fancied |
that he was aware Of your presence; |
but ever and anon his head would be |
lifted, and he would greet you with |
] solemn nod, his expression being in |
licative -of the most profound deJec- |
ton. Still more rarely he would |
youchsafe you a smile, which you re-
nembered long time, for Ellery's |
smiles were beautiful.
He was even known once or twice
year to pause for a few moments chat, |
speaking in a low, deep voice, swing !
ng his stick this way and that, or
humping the ground with it, and look
ng away from his interlocutor. The
act was, he was tremendously shy, |
md. like other shy men, when he hap
1ened to fall into a familiar mood ne
would be far more familiar than most
who are so habitually. He would laugh
With loudness and without grace, and
you'd stop laughing with embarrass-
ng suddenness, leaving you in the
urch, because he looked so abruptly
solemn again. He hated all manner of
all the social graces, and
lad he known the fashions he would
lave taken pains to avoid them.
He wore rOuSn, .llI-HltlHS ClOlneS,
md thick, ugly boots. The average
,erson was afraid of him. But he had
. heart full of the fire of love, and he
vas never happy except when he could
make some one else so; but he did not
NOW how, or was too shy to do it even
when he. did know; so he was much
He was married and had children,
hough how that ever happened !
ould not understand; 1 could not pic
ure Ellery making love to a woman,
r trottiug children on his knee.
ever saw his wife or his children,
ther. that I can recall; they GER
ainly never appeared with him in
ubiic in Concord. He was the nephew
-. Ill /. L. l.