Notes and Reviews 
halls and the ample scale of the rooms. 
There is, also, an ingenious contriving of 
the different storeys in such a manner that 
the first floor upon the garden side of the 
house lies at a level midway between the 
basement and the first floor upon the en¬ 
trance front. Steps reaching these rise and 
descend from the rotunda and disappear be¬ 
yond a series of arches that are plastered in 
semblance of French Caen-stone walls. 
Into the rotunda open the smoking-room 
and the reception-rooms, the panelling of 
their lofty walls colored a French gray ; and 
beyond these are on one hand the dining¬ 
room, in Circassian walnut illuminated with 
gold, and on the other the living-room. The 
walls of this beautiful apartment are clothed 
with old crimson damask found in Italy and 
hung within panels with that care necessary 
to preserve such a rich remnant of Europe’s 
old textile art. The woodwork runs to the 
ceiling and is lead-colored, making the finest 
background for the large canvases of old 
masters which give at once a great interest 
to the walls, and balance the chimney-piece, 
to which the eye is first attracted by an 
elaborate mantel of carved Siena marble and 
a gilt rococo mirror above. 
The stable of the place lies apart and un¬ 
seen from the house, and therefore does not 
conform to the style of the mansion, but it is 
a charming structure of dignified, yet low 
and graceful lines ; and, especially within its 
courtyard, there is a local touch in honor of 
Long Island’s indigenous dwellings, which 
makes it a harmonious companion to the 
original farmhouse of the estate, which is sit¬ 
uated close by. This building the owner 
and his architects have wisely preserved as 
the superintendent’s dwelling. 
T FIAT the transportation problem in large 
cities is to be even partially solved by 
means of automobiles is an idea which at 
first approach seems extremely picturesque. 
One easily imagines, the “Seeing New York’’ 
caravans lumbering their toilsome way through 
congested districts where they certainly are, 
as Commissioner McAdoo has said, too cum¬ 
bersome for ordinary street traffic. As an 
extreme effort on the part of an enterprising 
amusement company these vehicles may cease 
to be needed when amusement ends and 
practical needs begin. Many automobiles 
of moderate size may outrun these monsters, 
and in the crowded parts of cities carry pas¬ 
sengers where no other form of surface tran¬ 
sit can make its way. Such a transporta¬ 
tion scheme has been proposed for New 
York. If it is carried out the city may be 
blessed with that picturesque means of loco¬ 
motion which London and Paris already en¬ 
joy in their omnibuses. It is a means 
which, if existing alone, is entirely inade¬ 
quate for any modern city ; but, in conjunc¬ 
tion with other long-distance elevated or un¬ 
derground lines, it possesses undeniable ad¬ 
vantages. 
W HEN cities are beautified so that get¬ 
ting about in them will be an enjoy¬ 
ment and not merely a necessary blank in 
reaching one’s destination, the means of tra¬ 
versing the streets will contribute to that en¬ 
joyment. As proof of this one need only 
remember the delight at riding upon a bus 
through London or Paris. And witness, 
also, in our own country the tenacious pop¬ 
ularity of the Fifth Avenue stage. What 
is more diverting than to view the teeming 
life of a metropolis, when seated well aloft, 
safe from the wheels of a hundred vehicles; 
to tend sympathetically in their wake in this 
direction and in that; to watch the eddying 
crowds as would a bird if close to earth ; to 
see the long rows of buildings in their true 
proportions, upon either side ; to find at last 
and in one view all the aspects of a highway 
reaching far away where the perspective in¬ 
vites the ensemble to cease. Who would pre¬ 
fer to this to be “ expressed,” as Ruskin put 
it, in any railroad train, be it above or below 
the ground ? I n such a ride upon a small 
vehicle there is all the charm of travel within 
easy grasp. Nor is the experience entirely that 
of idle diversion. The rider is making time 
2 10 
