Lafcadio – a fascinating first name

You may have read about the author Lafcadio Hearn, who was born in 1850 in Lefkada (the origin of his name), one of the Greek Ionian Islands. He died in 1904 in Japan, where he changed his name to Koizumi Yakumo, after gaining Japanese citizenship.

Hearn was the son of surgeon-major Charles Hearn, of King’s County, Ireland, and Rosa Antonia Kassimati. His father was stationed in Lefkada during the English occupation of the Islands. Lafcadio was initially baptized Patricio Lefcadio Tessima Carlos Hearn, in the Greek Orthodox Church.

Lefcadio moved to Dublin, Ireland, at the age of 6, after his parents’ divorce. He attended Catholic schools there, and in England.

At the age of 19 he was sent to the United States, settling in Cincinnati, Ohio. With the help of Henry Watkin, he picked up a living in the lower grades of newspaper work, and quickly advanced, becoming a reporter for the Cincinnati Daily Enquirer, from 1872 to 1875. He was the paper’s premier successful journalist. But after marrying a black woman, illegal at that time, the scandal was publicized and he was fired from the Enquirer and went to work for the rival Cincinnati Commercial. In 1877 he left for New Orleans, living there for a decade. In 1889 Harper’s Monthly sent him to the West Indies as a correspondent.

In 1890 he went to Japan as a newspaper correspondent. He found his home and greatest inspiration there. He taught in the Normal School in Matsue. There, he married Setsu Koizumi. She was the daughter of a local Samurai family. He became a naturalized Japanese, taking the name Koizumi Yakumo. In late 1891 he taught in Kyushu, and in 1896, he began teaching English literature at Tokyo (Imperial) University. In 1904 he died of heart failure, at the age of 54.

With the introduction of Japanese aesthetics, particularly at the Paris World’s Fair in 1900, the West had an insatiable appetite for exotic Japan, and Hearn became known in the world, through the depth, originality, sincerity and charm of his writings.

Our son Daniel, a professor of law at Tokyo University, and his wife Mikiyo, are coming to visit us this week, after teaching courses at Columbia University in New York City for a week.

We will be very interested to hear their comments on this famous author, whom we knew onl as Lafcadio Hearn in this country.

Soapstone, we love you

We have been enjoying our soapstone, which we heat up on our woodstove and then place it between the sheets at the foot of our bed – a great foot-warmer.

I have searched for information on soapstones, but the dictionaries only describe what the stones’ ingredients are. The Antique Guide describes many items made of soapstone including bookends, candlesticks, carvings, and finally “Hot Plate.” But there is no picture nor description, just the dimensions. Perhaps an antique shop could tell more about them.

I thought we might give our soapstone a rest, now that we’ve had two lovely, 40-degree days, after a long cold spell. But the latest forecasts predict another week with low temps again, in the teens or lower. So as long as our wood supply holds out, we’re all set.

Elegant pie

I know what a good cook Westbrook’s Greta Wallace is. Several of her recipes are in the Westbrook Lion Club’s cookbook, “Home Cookin.”

This paragraph was printed in the American Journal several years ago:

“Members of municipal Planning Boards serve without pay, but Doug Wallace, chairman of Westbrook’s board, thought his colleagues deserved some reward when he asked them to cut supper short, to be on hand for a 6:30 p.m. start on a recent meeting. So he brought a dessert to start the meeting, with two elegant pecan pies baked for the occasion by his wife, Greta.

I say, “Good for Doug Wallace, too!”

Popular pudding

This recipe is one I cooked often when our children were young, and I usually doubled it, as it was a popular dessert.

EASIEST DESSERT

Into the top pf a double boiler put:

2/3 cup milk

1/4 cup sugar

1 square of chocolate

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch of salt

Heat and beat ingredients until smooth. Drop in 2 unbeaten eggs at once and beat for one minute (one-half a minute with an electric beater). Cover and cook slowly in top of the double boiler, for 30 minutes. Do not uncover during cooking. Serve either hot or cold, with cream if desired.

Lafcadio Hearn