Alice Cogswell Bemis: A Sketch by a Friend

								

freely given them. These were not restricted to a limited number with
tastes and outward circumstances that were comparatively alike, but were
extended to a large circle that differed widely in both of these. The
sincerity, genuineness, and simplicity of the lives of those that made
this home created an atmosphere that was felt as soon as one entered it.
Many of the younger generation both within and without the family circle
will have enduring memories of that house. Alan Gregg recalled in a few
words childhood memories that were common to many; writing from his post
in France he said: "Mrs. Bemis's death was a great surprise and shock,
and the long time that elapsed between knowing of her illness and her
death made me feel pretty far away. I remember her letting me play that
music box to my heart's content, and the way she made Gregg laugh at an
unexpected fall he took, instead of cry, better than anything else. She
could also do nice things for you without spilling over into
sentimentality."
Her grandchildren's recollections of her will be mostly in connection
with events in their own homes, where her visits were looked for eagerly
by those on the Atlantic coast and those on the Pacific, but happily
some of them are old enough to remember and pass on to the others the
impression made on them and on other children in the family connection,
of the grandmother's great pleasure in being with them and her plans for
their comfort and happiness. They recall the perfect housekeeping, where
the wheels seemed to move easily and were always out of sight; the
daintiness of all its appointments, which was shown too in the dress and
personal adornments of her who made this home and of those who shared it
with her. Here she welcomed many of her old friends and also new
acquaintances with whom lasting friendships were formed; here the
children gathered around them a fine group of congenial companions who
became their lasting friends; here they grew to manhood and to
womanhood; from thence they were all married, and hither they all
returned many times, with wife, husbands, and their own sons and
daughters for happy family reunions.
In this home the saddest as well as the most joyful experiences of her
life came to her. The former were borne with the calmness and strength
shown only by those with great capacity for suffering and great power of
self-control. The hardest trial that she had ever known was at a time
when she had little physical strength to meet it. After a year with the
family in Colorado, the eldest son, Judson, was sent to a manual
training school at St. Louis, Missouri, where there were many family
friends. He was a lad of much promise, a great reader, with varied gifts
and tastes. He had a very social nature and a warm interest in people,
was noble in character, and deep in his affections. The separation was
very hard for his mother, but it was met with the unselfishness she
always showed when her children's interests were to be considered. She