AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS 



view of the entire valley below; 

 in the stormy season a porch 

 enclosed with glass must be used. 

 The ground falls away too rapidly 

 for the dining-room to be on the 

 same level with the living-room. 

 It was desirable to reduce the 

 number of steps between the two 

 rooms to a minimum, and hence 

 the placing of these rooms in the 

 second story of that building. The 

 ice-house is so perfecth' insulated 

 that its position is not disadvan- 

 tageous, and no portion of the 

 servants' rooms is below the level 

 of the ground. The guest cham- 

 bers, although on the ground floor, 

 are so elevated that their windows, 

 from which beautiful views can be 

 had, are twelve feet above the 

 ground. The servants' jjorch opens 

 from the kitchen, and is appar- 

 ently not shut in; but, as the rail- 

 ing is of stucco instead of open, and 



"CHATEAU REXSAMER. 



as the adjoming trees spread heavy foliage toward it, its seclusion is sufficient to give 

 that ])rivacy which is necessary at the kitchen end of a house. 



The Chateau is a summer residence, and although there are large fireplaces in all the large 

 rooms, making May and October the most cheery months of the ^-ear, vet it is in the hot 

 season that the house is principally used. Under these conditions it is no drawback to reach 

 the guest chambers by wa)^ of the covered passage and the terrace, and the shed, open on all 

 sides, but protected by a high retaining-wall, is a more comfortable place for the laundress to 

 work in than a room inside would be. 



The House of John G. Wright, Esq., at Brookline, Massachusetts. 



Mr. John G. Wright's house, at Brookline, Massachusetts, is a fine type of the countr^■ 

 house of which the suburbs of Boston offer so many examples. It is built of buff brick, and 

 is finished with a slate roof. If its st}-le should be named, it would unquestionabh- be called 

 a late version of English domestic Gothic; but it is a thoroughly modern house, perfectly 



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