A YILLA-MAXSION. 



and general disposition of various portions of the estate required that the building 

 should be somewhat near to the road. From this road the land rose upward in a 

 gentle slope to a nearly level table, just large enough for the building, and on the 

 other side it dipped down at an angle so abrupt as to render terracing necessary, and 

 to cause the foundation walls at that point to be of considerable height, so that the 

 rear aspect of the lower portion of the house became so open and airy as to suggest a 

 convenient and pleasant bestowal of the kitchen and domestic offices in the lowest 

 floor, which, as it is entirely above ground, so far as lised for such a purpose, can 

 hardly be called a basement. 



The most cheerfully shone upon sides, and those from which the most' desirable 

 points of view of the landscape could be enjoyed, proved to ber the rear and side ; the 

 front looking toward a comparatively flat expanse of meadow and woodland beyond 

 the road, and the other side having a northern exposure. 



The owner required rooms of large size for entertainment and adequate accommoda- 

 tion for the family ; also a preference was expressed for ample hall and passage ways — 

 so arranged, how^ever, in summer time or for evening occupancy, as to be converted as 

 it were into inner apartments. A summer kitchen was also thought desirable ; and so, 

 with these rc< juirements to guide me, and the knowledge of local circumstances gained 

 by careful and frequent study upon the spot, the plan of the principal floor shaped 

 itself as follows. 



' In front, a terrace, a few steps in height, leads to the door of the entrance vestibule. 

 No. 1, in which are inner doors to the principal hall. One pair of doors is fiJled in 

 with a perforated metal 

 panel, to admit air in 

 summer, and is furnish- 

 ed with a close shutter 

 to fit in during cold 

 weather. Upon each 

 side of the vestibule are 

 hall closets, Nos. 2 and 

 3, with sash doors to- 

 ward the hall. 



The main hall, No. 4, 

 is of magnificent pro- 

 portions and extent, and 

 in it is a deep recess for 

 the principal staircase, 

 connected with the hall 

 by colunms and antre, 

 which correspond with 

 the other columns in the 

 hall shown in the ]ilan. 



On the left of the hall, in front, is the library. No. 5, a room twenty-four feet by 

 fifteen, lighted by a window toward the north, and by a projecting bay in front. Con- 

 with this room is a fire-proof closet or safe, by the side of which is an inclosure 

 lining a dumb-waiter, whi<-h (Onlucts from the floor below to the attic, and is 



PLAN OF PRI^'CIFAL FLOOR. 



