As I remember him : the biography of R.S / by Hans Zinsser.

  • Hans Zinsser
Date:
1940
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: As I remember him : the biography of R.S / by Hans Zinsser. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    30/466 page 14
    H and they became politically Americans with a speed and thoroughness surprising to all who did not understand their fervid admiration of our institutions. But when they had left behind all the things they had hated at home, they rediscov¬ ered in their own hearts the love for the many other things they missed in their new surroundings. Now he was dead. And after fifty-two years of journeying together my mother's life was over. She wanted to go back to Westchester County to the house where they had spent so many happy years. We younger ones had a little farm¬ house not far from the home place, in one of the narrow valleys through which the brooks run down to the Hudson. To this she came, with two maids and her chauffeur. Maids were different in those days, and chauffeurs were usually old men and recent coachmen. They were not birds of passage and servants. They had little pay compared with to-day, but their place of service was their home. They stayed a long time, and there was affection in their relationships. My mother was a benevolent tyrant. Her maids were praised and scolded, supervised, bullied, and petted. My mother knew about their families, their small brothers and sisters, and their troubles. They stood in awe of her a little — but loved her a great deal. Now, in her affliction, they cherished her with humble devotion. She wanted to be alone and, with them, she was alone — and taken care of. We brothers took turns visiting her. One of us came to see her each day, driving up from New York. We would find her sitting on the lawn in front of the house, silently knitting — a pitifully small and shrunken figure against the blazing grandeur of the autumnal hills. At a suit¬ able distance, on one side, sat Anna, her maid; just far enough
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3