December, 1911 
Nurseey 
Room A 
18-0 22°C 
Lauapey YAgD 
KircHen 
yee Ize 
Fiest Fvroor PLAN 
Floor-plans of the three stories of the house at St. Martins 
garden front a third wing juts out from the main portion 
of the house at right angles, making a part of the dining- 
room downstairs and a bedroom above. 
The observer cannot help being struck by the unusual 
appearance of the wall texture and wondering how it was 
produced. At first glance the house seems to be roughcast 
and yet, on closer inspection, the underlying stones and 
mortar joints are easily discernible. This is the way it 
was done. Rubble walls of rough native stone were built 
with as little projection as possible on the exposed face of 
the individual stones. ‘Then, instead of pointing, coarse 
mortar was slashed on broadly in a dashing manner and 
further roughened by drawing the edge of the trowel up- 
ward instead of sidewise or downward with a more smooth- 
ing stroke. As a result the walls present a nearly flat sur- 
face, the sides of the stones plainly showing through the 
surrounding flood of mortar. After the walls were dry a 
coat of whitewash was applied. This sounds complex, but 
is really simple and gives a remarkably pleasing, mellow 
texture. [he roughness absorbs so much light that there 
is not the usual glare from a white wall. Dark green shut- 
ters and copper rain-water heads and pipes stand out in 
strong relief against this background, affording welcome 
variety and contrast. 
Viewed from whatever point the roof line shows a 
decorous repose. From the north or south fronts we see 
three Jong ridges, that of the central portion of the house 
slightly higher than those of the wings. At the eastern 
and western ends the gables of the wings display the same 
pitch as the gable of the main roof and preserve the simple 
harmony of parallel lines. Although dormers break the 
slope of the roof, they are so disposed that the feeling of 
tranquillity is not lost while, at the same time, all of the third 
floor is rendered light and usable. 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
429 
On all four sides the arrangement of the fenestration 
is singularly felicitous. It is not only full of life and pleas- 
ant to look upon, with its orderly spacing, but entirely ade- 
quate and satisfactory regarding interior lighting. The 
numerous small, square panes make the windows appear 
to cover a much larger space than they actually do and give 
the house a remarkably wide-awake countenance. The pro- 
portions of the windows are especially good and worthily 
reflect the grace of the early Colonial model they were 
fashioned after. In the middle of the south front the 
triple window that lights the stairway is set beneath a flat- 
tened arch whose countersunk tympanum is filled in with 
masonry. ‘This bit of low relief is effective and, in the sim- 
plest way imaginable, satisfies the want of a scrap of adorn- 
ment to break an expanse of wall surface that would other- 
wise seem harsh and bare. A trellis, whose slats stand out 
from the wall horizontally, rests on brackets beneath the 
triple window and makes a framework for a porchlike 
canopy of vines over the south door and the small-paned 
French casement, both of which open on the brick-paved 
terrace, while another larger trellis, flat against the wall 
between the living-room windows, runs from the ground to 
the eaves. The leaded half-length side lights and fanlight 
of the north door are contrastingly replaced at the south 
by full-length side lights of ample width, filled with small, 
square panes. 
_ Entering the north door we find ourselves opposite a 
graceful staircase ascending to the second floor by two 
flights connected by a long landing under the triple win- 
dow already mentioned. An old house, about to be torn 
> 
SSeS 
patron saint in the act 
of dividing his military cloak with his sword in order to give half of it 
away in charity to a shivering soul, commemorates the legend by its 
place on the chimney and is one of the unique features of the place 
‘The effigy, in silhouette, of the neighborhood’s 
