In summer nights the droning of the bittern could be heard
across the meadows, and woodcock came down familiarly from the hills to
look for worms in the vegetable-garden. The snow melted here in Spring
and the grass grew green earlier than in other places. It was the
fitting abode and haven of rest for a family that had found the conflict
of life too hard for them.
Within the house was as pleasant as without. There is no better
decoration for a room than a good library, and though Mr. Alcott's books
were not handsomely bound one could see at a glance they were not of a
common sort. They gave his study an air of distinction, which was well
carried out by the refined look and calm demeanor of its occupant. The
room opposite, which was both parlor and living-room, always had a
cheerful homelike appearance; and after the youngest daughter May
entered on her profession as a painter, it soon became an interesting
museum of sketches, water-colors and photographs. I remember an
engraving of Murillo's Virgin, with the moon under her feet, hanging on
the wall, and some excellent copies of Turner's water-color studies. The
Alcotts were a hospitable family, not easily disturbed by callers, and
ready to share what they had with others. The house had a style of its
own.
How Emerson accomplished what he did, with his slight physique and
slender strength, will always be one of the marvels of biography.
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