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AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



October, 1905 



which to-day is quite as much a " show place " of Princeton 

 as when it was built, between 1701 and 1709. 



On the right of the hall are two rooms, one front and one 

 back, which, retain their original dimensions. The front 

 room is a morning-room or reception-room. It is a yellow 

 room, with yellow walls and white wood trim, and yellow 

 furniture with mahogany frames. All of the woodwork and 

 permanent fixtures are original except the mantel, which, for 

 the reason already stated, is new. But behind it, in the 

 chimney breast, are the little side cupboards built by the 

 original builder. The doorways are small and, like the 

 window frames, are surmounted with low, flat pediments. 



The adjoining room to the rear is the billiard-room. The 

 walls are a delicate blue; the curtains a light blue velvet; 

 carpet of the same hue surrounds the billiard table, which, 



Beyond the drawing-room is the library. To its cultured 

 owner this is easily the most important room in the house by 

 reason of its fine literary contents, and it is fully that by rea- 

 son of its great structural beauty. It is designed in the 

 Tudor style, the walls lined throughout with books, save 

 where discontinued for the handsome fireplace and chimney 

 of Caen stone, the ceiling beamed with white panels. The 

 curtains are of green and yellow, the rug green. The book- 

 cases are a part of the permanent fixtures of the room, but it 

 would scarcely be correct to speak of them as built in, for 

 the window frames are built out to their outer edge. The 

 bookcases do not, therefore, extend into the room, but the 

 entire apartment is surrounded with an inner frame of wood, 

 under a part of which are the shelves for the books and 

 under the other part the windows. It is a spacious room, the 



" Drumthwacket " — The Drawing-Room 



owing to the somewhat restricted dimensions of the room, 

 completely fills the center. A door on the side at the further 

 end opens onto an open terrace floored with brick, and of 

 which the furniture — table and benches — are marble. 



A triple doorway, one end of which opens from the morn- 

 ing-room, the other two ends from the billiard-room, abutting 

 against the dividing wall, leads to the drawing-room. This 

 is in the new part of the house and is several steps lower than 

 the older part. It is, therefore, a distinctly modern room, 

 very beautifully detailed; the walls are paneled, the door- 

 ways are arched, and between the further pair of arches is 

 an elaborately carved Italian marble mantelpiece. The 

 walls are hung with damask of a rich maroon hue, and the 

 curtains and furniture are of the same color. The wall 

 panels, wainscot and other woodwork are painted white. 



inner dimensions from frame to frame being about 33 x 21 

 feet. It is a room that glows with light, so broad and 

 ample are the windows; and it is also permeated with a dis- 

 tinct architectural charm, so agreeable is its form, so well 

 studied its detail, so delightful the effect of the whole. It 

 is a library to live in and to work in, and every part of it 

 speaks aloud the profound interest and affection of its owner, 

 not alone for the room, but for the carefully chosen collection 

 of books which are at once its finest adornment and chiefest 

 treasure. Yet there are other treasures in the room than the 

 books. Most of the furniture is made from ancient oak 

 obtained from an old English school. Just before the fire- 

 place — it can be discerned in the photograph — is a little 

 wooden stand made by James Madison. In one of the book- 

 cases is a tea set that belonged to Dolly Madison, and there 



