University of Virginia Library

A NEW ENGLAND LITERARY COLONY.
"Nook Farm" at Hartford, and the notable group of writers who have settled there—Glimpses of the home life of Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Charles Dudley Warner, and their neighbors.

GROUPED together in and about the old New England city of Hartford are some of the best known literary people in this country. Their homes form what might almost be called a literary colony, and so close are their lives that one thinks instinctively of the old saying, "Birds of a feather flock together." Here are the adjoining homes of Harriet Beecher Stowe, Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain), Charles Dudley Warner, William E. Gillette, the noted writer and actor of the drama, Richard Burton, poet and literary critic, and Isabella Beecher Hooker, philanthropist and writer on sociology.

It is not mere accident that the charming homes of these noted writers are thus side by side. They are inclosed in what was formerly known as "Nook Farm," and still bears the name. The nucleus of the colony was formed by the buying of Nook Farm by the families of Isabella Beecher Hooker and William Gillette, who are closely related. Harriet Beecher Stowe is Mrs. Hooker's sister, and it was natural that she should be drawn thither. The city of Hartford could not offer a fairer site than that selected by Mr. Clemens, in a neighborhood of culture, refinement, and natural beauties; and to Mr. Warner and to Mr. Burton the magnet of a literary atmosphere must have been strong.

These homes of genius are adjoining, and are all within a stone's throw of each other—though I am sure the inmates never throw stones, for they are on the most friendly terms.

Mr. Clemens, who "has made more people laugh than any other living writer," has a house which is decidedly unique in design, and would at once be singled out from many fine residences in the same locality, because of its unusual appearance. The site is one that combines the best of city and country. The house is built on an elevation above the roadway, towards which slopes a faultlessly graded and grassy lawn. The architecture cannot be designated as any particular style. It seems rather to have been a fancy of the designer, who must have sought to carry variety of outline and detail as far as it could go within artistic bounds. As a result, it carries a distinctive individuality.

The structure is of brick, in which variety of color is prominent. In the rear of the house, and entirely hidden from view from the street, is a large, broad, covered balcony, beautifully floored. This is a symbol of hospitality, and was built for the sole purpose of serving teas and holding banquets with congenial souls during the warmer months of the year. From the roadway one singles out what looks like an offshoot from the main building, jutting out from one side of the front of the house. It is of one story and one room size, extending out on the lawn and overlooking it on three sides. It is isolated from the household—an ideal study or work room, you would imagine. But in point of fact, prosaic as it sounds, this is the kitchen. "Mark Twain built his kitchen in front of his house," as passers by observe with a smile at what they regard as an instance of the eccentricities of genius.

In the original building the kitchen was in the rear, but it was found small, inconvenient, and inadequate to the needs of the household, and so the house was relegated to the rear and the kitchen put in front, as that was the only available spot. The effect on the architectural appearance of the building is certainly unique. Combined with the setting of trees and grassy slopes, the place has something of the appearance of a lodge house.

Reaching out from the house on the west, and sloping down to a beautiful little valley through which a diminutive river winds lazily along, stretches a chestnut grove. In winter the river is alive with skaters. Groups of children pass you, and you hear them saying, "Where are you going skating?" to which the usual answer is, "Oh! to Mark Twain's."

When Mr. Clemens went abroad last year, he left word with his gardener to give the

children the use of his chestnut grove. The children felt this to be a right royal grant, and the autumn following the grounds resounded with their shouts and merry making.

The interior of the Mark Twain house is made artistic and interesting by various rich and antique pieces of furniture and bric-à-brac, collected by Mr. and Mrs. Clemens on their travels abroad. Mr. Clemens' own work room is on the top floor; but for the past two years he has spent most of his time on the wing, with his wife and his three daughters. One of these daughters, while in London recently, was asked a question about one of her father's latest books. She replied, quite characteristically, "Really I can't give an opinion. Papa is the nicest thing in the world, but oh, dear, I do wish he was not a famous funny man!"

In the absence of its inmates the house is left in charge of a man and wife, who look closely after its interests; the flowers are culled daily from the large greenhouse adjoining, and disposed of.

In the mellow glow of an autumnal day the outlook from this beautiful home has tempted many an artist's eye.

Next to Mr. Clemens on the south is the home of Charles Dudley Warner. Their rear yards are divided by a low fence, but a much used and very friendly looking gate joins them. Mr. Warner's home is surrounded by a noble grove of the original monarchs of the forest, and in this setting seems so complete as to need no other accompaniment.

The house is colonial in style, spacious and hospitable, and stands uninclosed among the magnificent trees. It is quite an imposing structure as seen from a distance. To the west, at the foot of a steep bank, winds the little river, which seems very generally to be called "Mark Twain's."

Mr. Warner's "Summer in a Garden" is not associated with his present abode, but was written in another home—a house near by, where the town looks into the country. A deep ravine, wild and picturesque, is on one side of it, and the "garden" on two others.

A Southern lady, who had been greatly charmed with the character of Polly in "My Summer in a Garden," and who had supposed the original of the character to be the author's wife, was greatly disappointed when told that Mrs. Warner's name was not Polly at all. She declared that she was ready to cry with vexation and disappointment, and that she would never again be quite as enchanted with the book, because she had learned to love Mrs. Warner as Polly. "Backlog Studies" was also written in this earlier home.

The interior of Mr. Warner's present home is artistic without being luxurious. It is genial, cheerful, and hospitable; trophies of its inmates' travels are placed here and there, and many beautiful pictures and engravings adorn the walls. Every part of the house is more or less of a library, for books are everywhere. Mr. Warner's study is on the third floor. He is very methodical in his literary labors, and can lay his hand in an instant on whatever he desires. Of Mrs. Warner it is said that whoever is so favored as to spend an evening in this charming atmosphere, will go away wishing to write an article on the home and its mistress. She is president of the Memnon Club, which has justly gained a reputation for devotion to the best in music and literature, and through which Hartford has been able to enjoy the talent of some of the most famous artists.

East of Mr. Clemens, its grounds adjoining his, is the home of Harriet Beecher Stowe. The house is an unassuming cottage, facing the east. The plot of ground on which it stands is planted with shrubbery and bright with flowers. The interior of the home is tasteful and refined in all its appointments; the rooms are large, comfortable, hospitable, and by no means lacking in artistic adornment.

There are abundant proofs of literary culture to be seen on all sides. The place is quite a treasure house of relics, and testimonials of reverence to this gifted woman, whose memory will ever be enshrined in the hearts of the people, are everywhere to be seen. I am informed that it is Mrs. Stowe's intention to bequeath to the public, in some fashion, many of these valuable relics, including a collection of her original manuscripts.

Although you see many marks of genius in the house of this noted woman, it is still difficult to realize that you are actually in the home of one of the most famous authors of the age. She has lost her active interest in the affairs that formerly absorbed her time and energies. Only the fairest weather tempts her out, and she is no longer able to take the long country walks which in former years were her greatest delight. But in her advanced age her fondness for children and music is just as warm and spontaneous as during her active life. Childish and happy, she is most affectionately

cared for by her twin daughters, Harriet and Eliza.

The home of William E. Gillette adjoins that of Charles Dudley Warner on the south. You follow a delightful winding road that leads around among the trees to its door. In summer it is so completely hidden in this miniature forest that you would scarcely suspect its existence until you are at its very portals, and then you are overwhelmed with surprise at its beauty of setting. You hardly care to study the design and architecture of the house, but drink in with a long inspiration the beauty of the whole. There is a restfulness about the place, and a seclusion that seems to shut you off completely from all the bustle and hurry of the busy streets a few blocks away from you. Seemingly you are in some sylvan bower in the heart of the country.

To this spot Mr. Gillette always comes when worn with his literary and theatrical labors. He was born in Hartford in 1853. As a boy he had been famous among his playfellows for his proficiency in the language of dogs, cats, and poultry, and as he grew up he developed a taste for the stage. This, however, was not to the minds of his parents, who had a thorough New England prejudice against all actor folk. In later years it was through his neighbor, Mark Twain, that he first obtained a position with John T. Raymond and appeared at the Globe Theater, Boston, in "The Gilded Age." Later, turning toward dramatic authorship, he set to work on a piece called "The Professor," taken from a character sketch. This was followed by "Esmeralda," in the writing of which Mr. Gillette assisted Frances Hodgson Burnett. Many of his later comedies have been adaptations from German and French sources. In "Too Much Johnson"—which, with Mr. Gillette in the principal rôle, was one of the popular successes of the last season in New York—he owed the central idea of a part of the piece to a French play, but beyond this the comedy is an original conception.

East of Mr. Warner's home, with adjoining grounds, is the home of Richard Burton, author, critic, and poet, at one time professor of literature at the Johns Hopkins University, and now literary critic on the Hartford Courant. He is a versatile, bright, and most interesting speaker, and his lectures on literature are artistic and scholarly. Of his work as a poet the following may be taken as a specimen:

Mr. Burton's home is the most modern in build of the group, but its design is antique. It is not large or imposing in appearance, and is colonial in style. With its long, slanting roof, the irregularity of its windows, and its delightful portico, the place has a great fascination for a lover of this style. It is shingled in natural wood.

Isabella Beecher Hooker lives opposite the former home of Mr. Warner. She is the youngest sister of the late Henry Ward Beecher. She married a successful lawyer of Hartford, and has been a very close student of social, political, and religious questions. Her work in later life developed into a series of "conversations," extending to Boston, New York, and other cities. Her best known work is "Womanhood, Its Sanctities and Fidelities." She is well known, too, for her platform work.

Mrs. Hooker's home is a charming spot. The house is of the Gothic order, large and rambling. Under its roof have been welcomed many distinguished people. It is set far back from the road, from which it can be approached on two sides, and marks the confines of Nook Farm on the east. It is inclosed in ample grounds, set with rare trees, in the shade of which Mrs. Hooker loves all friendly minded people to roam at will.

Hartford also claims the home of Anne Trumbull Slossen, beloved by American readers for her clever stories of country life, of which "Fishin' Jimmy" is fairly representative.

Mrs. Slossen's home is just beyond the heart of the city. In winter you would see in it little to distinguish it from the other attractive homes on Asylum Avenue, unless it were the look of loneliness and isolation it generally bears, for the author makes her home in New York during the greater part of the year, and the old homestead is closed. But in the summer it carries a notable individuality. It is a veritable "wild wood"

among its sister homes. All sorts of native shrubs, plants, and flowers have been set out in the garden in front of the house; and as nature alone nourishes these relics of field and wood, they grow in the wildest confusion. Set in the midst of highly cultivated lawns, the effect is certainly interesting and charming; and though, to an unsympathetic eye, it may give the home an air of neglect, it is restful and refreshing to lovers of unadorned and untrammeled nature.

Mrs. Slossen is a charming hostess. Interested in all educational matters, she has been preëminently the friend of students, who, deprived of the home atmosphere, and among strangers, have found at her hearth-stone a gracious welcome, and the direct inspiration that her personality gives.

E. Sherman Echols.