Omaha daily bee., 1910-08-14
The Orchard House Home Of Louise Acct and later Of Wm Harris

Lathrop, whom you Know as Margaret
Sidney the author OF Five Little Pep
pers." But still another treat was In
store for us at this literary shrine. Mr..
Frank Sanborn Joined our party, and
while we sat resting under the pines and
hemlocks. told many incidents in the lives
of the Alcotts, Hawthornes, Emersons and
Thoreaus, which we could not get from
books. Mr.. Sanborn knew intimately the
ones OF whom he spoke and Is himself a
poet, biographer and essayist.
1 think 1 hear you ask whether I visited
the Orchard house" where the Alcotts
lived when Louisa wrote Little Women"
Yes we were there but the house is closed
and unoccupied. We were sorry we could
not go through the old house, for 1t was
also the home of William T. Harris, the
great educator who bought 1t from Mr..
Alcott before the close of the Concord
School and who occupied 1t as a summer
residence.
We visited 1.-THE Old Manse" and read
again, in memory, Emersons Mature"
written there and Hawthorne's Moses
from an Old Manse," We inspected the fine
old interior rich in historic as wen as
literary associations and walked about the
grounds. extending behind the house to the
gentle river where the farmers fired the
shot heard round the world" The Battle
monument marks the British position and
French's splendid bronze figure of the
brave eyed young minute man--one hand on
his pillow. the other grasping his ready
musket, marks the position of the Ameri-
cans. wish you could see this splendid
statue. The figure is of heroic proportions
faithfully reproducing the minute man of
the Revolution. in the garb OF the farmer
soldier, the waistcoat hanging heavily with
the bullets in the pockets, leaving his pillow
in the burrows and answering, musket in
hand, the call to arms; the attitude alert;
the face serious and resolute For inscrip-
ton are the opening lines Of Emerson's
noble hymn which you know:
BY the rude bridge that arched the flood
Their flage to Aprirs breeze unfurled:
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world
Our day at Lexington and Concord was
fast drawing to a close. The rain was
softly falling, but we could not leave with
out stopping at beautiful Sleepy Hollow
cemetery to look upon that little cluster
of graves almost within touch Of each
other where lie the remains of Emerson
Hawthorne. Thoreau and the two Alcotts
father and daughter--as grand group OF
WORTHLESS as can be found thus brought to-
gether anywhere outside of Westminster
Abbey. Sleepy Hollow is indeed the ceme-
terry Of the immortals, oaks stand about
as watchful sentlnels and intertwlne their
gnarled boughs. Pines. too look down from
their spires upon the plain graves which
their roots interlace. The modest tomb OF
the Alcotts is just across the path from
that of Hawthorne. The latter is safe
guarded by a hedge Of Arbor-vitae, but all
loose and free and so low that one can 500
through and over IT, Myrtle creeps over
the whole grave while pines and oaks look
down upon the calm spot.
Thoreau's grave is close by The falling
rain brought out the fragrance Of the
pines near by and reminded us of the odors
Of Thoreau's charming pages. which never
sold while he lived but today in all at
mospheres quickens, but never harms EN-
ersons grave Is marked by a rough stone
and lies between two great pines one at
the head and the other at the foot As
we turned away these lines from his ad-
dress at the conservation OF the cemetery
were recalled: Sleepy Hollow. In this
quiet valley, as in the palm OF Natures
hand. we shall sleep well. when we have
finished our day. And when these acorns
that are falling at our feet are oaks over
shadowlng our children in a remote century.
this mute green bank viii be full OF history;
the good the wise and great will have
left their names and virtues on the trees
will have made the air unable and arti-
culate."
Next week we visit the haunts OF Whit
tier and are anticipating II with the great
est pleasure. Lovingly
CLARA B. AIAsoN
Principal Of Train school