150 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



September, 1906 



end toward the entrance is old and that toward the formal 

 garden is new. Each has a pair of central pilasters support- 

 ing a curved pediment which rises above the main cornice. 

 Between these, in the first story, is a small pedimented porch, 

 with a window above it with a rounded head. All the other 

 windows arc rectangular, those of the first story having 

 molded frames surmounted with cornices, while those of the 

 second story are slighter in every way and without any orna- 

 mental headings. The balustrade which surmounts the main 

 cornice, and which partly conceals the roof, is an essential 

 feature of the exterior. The house stands on a spacious ter- 

 race of tiles, supported by a brick wall and inclosed within 

 a handsome balustrade. 



This house thoroughly meets every ideal of a comfortable 

 New England home. Splendid its exterior can not be called, 

 for it is a simple, direct, wooden fabric with no external fea- 

 ture of magnificence save the stately terrace before it. This 

 is itself thoroughly distinguished, and is well adjusted to the 



other walls are chiefly reminiscences of foreign travel. The 

 merest glance is sufficient to make clear that this is no ordinary 

 room, and that its pictured contents are mementoes of no 

 ordinary type. One hardly looks, in any quiet New England 

 home, for evidences of royal regard nor for affectionate 

 greetings from European sovereigns. Yet Mr. Meyer did 

 not spend four years in Rome as the Ambassador of the 

 United States without making many acquaintances among 

 the royal and great families of Italy, and that he won their 

 regard, and carried with him to his present post in Russia 

 many tributes of their esteem, is apparent from almost every 

 room of his beautiful summer home. Most of these memen- 

 toes have been transplanted to this house, and hence it fol- 

 lows that this New England mantel is adorned with an auto- 

 graph-photograph of the King of Italy and with similar 

 photographs from many members of the Italian royal family. 

 A screen by a window is completely filled with foreign photo- 

 graphs, the gifts of admiring friends, and very precious 



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The Terraced Front Facing the Public Road 



The Fountain in the Formal Garden 



house upon it. But if the house is wanting in splendid fronts 

 it has, to a very marked degree, the nobler qualities of home, 

 a quality that more pretentious structures do not always pos- 

 sess, but which here assumes quite penetrating proportions. 

 This characteristic of the exterior is the more marked since, 

 as will presently be apparent, the house contains some fine 

 rooms of genuinely splendid style. 



One has scarcely entered the house before one becomes 

 aware that this is a dwelling of no ordinary kind. The vesti- 

 bule or entrance-hall is small, the woodwork is white, the 

 walls covered with a tapestry-paper; a fine old brass lamp 

 depends from the center of the ceiling, and there is a beautiful 

 old mirror and some good old engravings. 



The morning-room, or Mrs. Meyer's den, opens immedi- 

 ately from this hall. The walls are green, the ceiling plain 

 and undecorated, the rugs green in tone, the furniture of red- 

 striped satin, the mantel, over which is an old brassed frame 

 mirror, is of black marble. The walls are covered with a 

 multitude oi photographs, those on two sides of the room 

 being reproductions of family portraits, while those on the 



trophies of a well-spent ambassadorship in the service of his 

 country. 



The morning-room is at the corner of the house, and is the 

 first room on the main front from the entrance. Most of the 

 other rooms are placed on this front and are entered by doors 

 that open from one to another. The staircase-hall immedi- 

 ately adjoins it. The walls and woodwork are gray, the stair- 

 carpet of deep, rich maroon. The doorway at the foot of 

 the stairs opens onto the terrace. It is simply a staircase- 

 hall and quite unpretentious in its utility. 



The drawing-room comes next. In the center of the con- 

 necting wall is the chimney and fireplace; there is no separat- 

 ing wall on either side, but columns and pilasters to uphold 

 the ceiling. The walls are covered with gray paper in two 

 shades, arranged in paneled designs. The beautiful white- 

 marble mantel was brought from Italy. It supports a ime 

 old gilded mirror with blue ornaments. There are curtains 

 of red-darnask silk at the doors ami windows, and some line 

 pieces of tapestry arc hung on the walls and between the open 

 spaces to the hall. The Oriental rugs are red. The 



