House and Garden 
THE HALL OF THE SECOND STORY 
Platt purchased abroad for his client and skill¬ 
fully incorporated into the interior of the 
house. Florentine candelabra, old settles, 
chests and chairs, enriched panels and hang¬ 
ings from the cities of Tuscany and Lom¬ 
bardy,—of France as well,—fairly furnish 
the halls and rooms of the first floor and not 
a few pieces have made their way to the 
second. Dark oak friezes, carved and 
gilded, have been fastened to the woodwork 
of the hall against an effective background 
of ivory-white wainscoting below plaster 
painted a Pompeian red. In the long hall 
an old French tapestry reaches from ceiling 
to floor, its pure medieval dyes defying the 
light which streams in from windows facing 
on the terrace. 
The advice of the architect has been 
heeded in the furnishing of “ Maxwell 
Court ” both indoors and out. Impressive 
harmonies of color in the principal rooms 
have been undefiled by the accidental en¬ 
trance of highly colored stuffs or hangings. 
With equal care trifling and inconsequential 
bric-a-brac have been excluded, preference 
being given to a few fine old pieces of majol¬ 
ica or antique carving suitably imposing in 
size and scale to play a part in the design of 
each interior. The drawing-room is entirely 
panelled with English oak, in the large divis¬ 
ions of which minor doors are concealed; 
and in lieu of wood the walls of the dining¬ 
room are covered with old Italian wrought 
leather (rarer than the Spanish) whose gold 
and crimson are permitted to hold full sway 
beside a gray stone mantel and a ceiling of 
subdued silver and drab. All objects, 
whether built in the house or afterward 
added, are in a harmony rarely seen, and 
they make of “ Maxwell Court ” the most 
remarkable structure in its locality and the 
best work thus far performed by its architect. 
