February, 1908 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



51 



what is true of one 

 place is true of 

 many others. The 

 whole great region 

 is, in fact, a gigantic 

 park; varied utterly 

 in its development 

 and treatment, yet 

 beautiful through- 

 o u t , full of the 

 deepest natural in- 

 terest, and distin- 

 guished by many 

 points of charm and 

 beauty. 



The general 

 park-like effect of 

 this whole region is 

 immensely impres- 

 sive. It may not be 

 unique, yet it is suf- 

 ficiently unusual to 

 be at once distin- 

 guished and not- 

 able. One at least 

 can not go astray 

 here in searching 

 for points of inter- 

 est nor for sights 

 with which to de- 

 light the eye. And 

 one can at least be 

 certain that each 

 private roadway 

 that turns into a 

 private estate will 

 lead to handsome 

 grounds, laid out 

 with exquisite care, 

 and to a house that 

 may have unusual 

 interest in itself. 



Mr. Schmidt's house makes no pretensions, either in its ex- 

 terior or interior, that concentrate attention upon it to an 

 exclusion of interest in the grounds. I have already adverted 

 to the beauty of its situation and to the splendid man- 



The Vestibule Is a Vaulted Chamber Walled with Stone 



ner which it is im- 

 mediately sur- 

 rounded. But it 

 may not be amiss to 

 once more direct at- 

 tention to it as being 

 very completely 

 suited to the general 

 environment. There 

 is a fine harmony 

 between the house 

 and grounds that 

 deserves more than 

 a passing word ; a 

 harmony of pur- 

 pose, a unity in feel- 

 ing, an intimacy of 

 relationship that is 

 of a quite unusual 

 character. These 

 qualities, are those 

 that every skilful 

 architect aims to de- 

 velope in places such 

 as this, and which 

 Mr. John Windrim, 

 of Philadelphia, the 

 architect of Mr. 

 Schmidt's house, 

 has realized in a 

 very striking de- 

 gree. One is con- 

 stantly seeking for 

 such results, looks 

 for them as ends to 

 be obtained as a 

 matter of course, 

 and is invariably 

 surprised — exactly 

 as one must be im- 

 pressed — whenever 

 they are found 

 brought, as here, to a fine fruition of maturity. It is, of 

 course, impossible that the house should match the landscape 

 in the sense that it be identical with it; but the house should 

 be suited to its surroundings, and seem to belong to it. 







