August, 1908 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



303 



front, the ample areas of the terrace; below is the beautiful 

 new green grass; and beyond are the myriad delights, natural 

 and human, that form so potent a part in the charm of 

 Newport. Here, indeed, is a rare exterior, stately, ornate 

 and splendid, a truly fitting background for the gayest sort 

 of festivity and the most princely hospitality. 



But although the terrace is, in a sense, the culmination of 

 the house, there is much within to see of interest before its 

 supreme attractiveness will be learned. The main doorway 

 leads directly into the grand hall without any vestibule save 

 the glazed external porch. This is a superb and palatial 

 apartment, whose superficial area is perhaps twenty-five by 

 fifty feet. The ceiling, which is decorated with great bold- 

 ness and vigor in relief, is upheld by four pairs of coupled 

 columns of richly veined marble with Ionic capitals. These 

 are arranged somewhat toward each end, leaving a free 

 central space. Pilasters of similar design are applied to the 

 adjoining walls opposite to them. The walls are of white 

 plaster, with panels formed by narrow bands of verde an- 

 tique marble, while the door frames are of the same rich 

 material as the columns. The stairway is on the right, 

 rising without the columns at that end. It is continued to 

 a broad landing, and then turns to the right and left; the 

 left arm alone rises to the second floor, but a somewhat 

 symmetrical treatment is effected by continuing the right arm 

 to the outer wall on that side. The lower part of the stair- 

 way is supported on half arches, giving a free space below, 

 which is available for an orchestra on occasions of entertain- 

 ment. The stairs are of white Italian marble, and the hand- 

 rail is a fine example of French wrought iron work. 



The living-room immediately adjoins the hall and occu- 

 pies the other half of the center of the house. The walls 

 are paneled throughout in quartered oak. The spaces over 

 the door openings are arched, to correspond with the form 

 of the windows, the main doorway, for its greater size, 

 being necessarily surmounted with an eliptical arch. Four 

 great windows in the opposite wall open to the floor and give 

 upon the terrace. In the center is the chimney fireplace, ar- 

 ranged in a structure that projects well into the room. The 

 ceiling has the form of a low eliptical arch, and from it 

 depend two rich bronze chandeliers. 



There are two rooms in the left wing : the library, which 

 faces the entrance front, and the salon, which looks out upon 

 the water. The library is paneled throughout in French 

 walnut, with built-in bookcases. Both the shelves and the 

 paneling form a part of a continuous design, the salient 



feature of which is the pilasters, erected on a plain dado, and 

 arranged singly or in pairs as emphasis and situation re- 

 quire. All around the room, and still a part of the in- 

 terior woodwork, is a carved frieze of rich scroll design. 

 The fireplace is of Caen stone, lined with brick. The panel 

 over the mantel is cut away for the insertion of a portrait 

 of Mrs. Bruguiere; a festooned decoration is arranged above 

 and around it. The ceiling is plain white plaster. 



The salon is a beautiful apartment designed in the style of 

 Louis XVI. The arches of the windows form the keynote 

 of the design, for arches of less dimension are continued 

 around the walls. Paneled piers support the frames and 

 arches; the latter, however, are without molded frames, but 

 are surrounded with garlands and bands of roses modeled 

 in plaster. A similar floral treatment is given to the panels 

 of the piers, which carry a cornice supported on small 

 modillions. And everywhere, save where there are win- 

 dows, are mirrors — mirrors in the arched openings on each 

 side of the doorways; mirrors in similar openings on each 

 side of the fireplace; a large mirror over the mantel shelf, 

 and still smaller ones, rectangular in form, in the spaces 

 between the larger panels. The ceiling is domed, with a 

 mirror in the apex, from which descends a rich and beautiful 

 crystal chandelier. It is a room brimful of light and gaiety, 

 conceived in a very happy way and carried out in a thor- 

 oughly successful and charmingly playful manner. 



The dining-room is on the opposite side of the house, and 

 is larger than either the library or salon, but not so large 

 as the two together; some space is needed here for the ample 

 service requirements, which face the entrance front, the 

 dining-room being on the sea front. The walls are paneled 

 in solid mahogany in plain, simple, rectangular panels that 

 rise to about the height of the doors. The door frames are 

 of buff Siena marble and are quite monumental in character; 

 the richness of their material offsetting, in a measure, the 

 sobriety of their design. At one end is the fireplace, incased 

 within a chimney-piece of Siena marble, a vast and elabor- 

 ately designed structure that quite dominates the room. The 

 family arms fill the central panel. The ceiling is supported 

 by a double cove. The lower one rises immediately above 

 the summit of the paneling, and against it are finished the 

 crowns of the door frames and the chimney-piece. A band 

 of foliage, behind which are concealed the electric lights 

 which illuminate the room, separates the lower cove from the 

 upper one, which is smaller and merges immediately into the 

 flat surface of the central ceiling. 



