Historic Homes Part 17

The interior of the house is most interesting from an architectural standpoint. The proportions are well balanced, there is a dignity of design and a care in its finish that attracts experts. The value lies not so much in the workmanship as in the choice bits of design shown princ.i.p.ally in the exterior, and that are well worth introducing into a twentieth-century home.

The upper hall has an elliptical arched window and a hand-carved bal.u.s.trade. It is of the same proportions as the lower hall, and it, too, is fitted up as a living-room. Beautiful pieces of furniture are well chosen and well placed. A large bookcase showing torch ornamentations contains rare books that cannot be duplicated. In each one is a bookplate, the work of Henry Middleton. A certain charm pervades the second story of this mansion, which does not lie in the furnishing but in the architectural details of the window, the pilasters, the hand-carving of the bal.u.s.ters, all of which are simple but unusual.

Large, square chambers open from either side of the hallway, and like the rest of the house are furnished in seventeenth-century pieces. The fireplace, decorated with bow and arrow design, is of Scaglioni composition and was found in an Italian palace. The furniture of this room is unusually rare. There is not a single piece of ordinary make.

The bed is a fine example of Sheraton, showing a tester, and decorated in gilt bows and arrows brought out clearly on the white enamel. This bed, showing the cupid pattern, was purchased for the first bride of the Middleton house. It has within recent years been repainted, but the pattern kept intact. Unique are the drapings of this bed, the counterpane being very rich gold and white satin lined with white and edged with French lace. The same idea has been carried out in flounce and hangings. The chairs are also rare examples of Sheraton, and follow the color scheme of the room.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE XCV.--Bridal Chamber, Middleton House.]

A second chamber in this house has a fine four-poster imported from Leghorn at the time when the house was built. It is a Chippendale and one of the best examples of that master's designs. A painting in this room is very valuable, being a picture of Lady Mornington, the mother of Wellington. It was painted by her daughter, Lady Berghurst, who posed her model with a gazette in her hand containing an account of the battle of Waterloo.

A most interesting collection of furniture belonging to the deWolfs shows earmarks of the old masters' designs kept in the group of houses that were built by this distinguished family. The most prominent being the house of Charles deWolf. It was a large, square structure with roof sloping on all sides, and containing low-studded and s.p.a.cious rooms that were heated by fireplaces only. An odd feature of this house were the hallways, running at right angles and meeting in the center. Spanish furniture, richly carved and showing odd patterns, vied with French pieces in magnificence.

The walls of the double drawing-rooms were hung with paper showing birds of paradise in brilliant plumage. Between the two rooms were gorgeous portieres of gold and silver damask. On state occasions the table bore solid silver candelabra and goblets of gold, spoils of the early siege of Oyapoc.

Here General Knox of Revolutionary fame was a frequent visitor. After his death the splendid estate of ten square miles given him by Congress and situated in Maine was sold, and much of the beautiful furniture was introduced into the deWolf house.

A third house, which was destroyed by fire, was built by Captain Jim, the youngest son of old Mark Anthony deWolf, who built the first house for his family in Bristol. The builder was a most successful merchant, his estate at one time comprising nearly the whole eastern part of the town. The mansion was built at about the same time as "Hey Bonnie Hall."

It is of plain exterior with simple lines and shows fine proportions.

Inside are twenty-eight rooms that were fitted up with the choicest pieces of Chippendale, Hepplewhite, and Sheraton. So wealthy was the house owner that when the fashion changed from English to French, and the Empire style came into vogue, this furniture was replaced by examples of the best designs and construction, including both European and American styles. Many of these pieces were worthy a museum.

On the walls were wonderful portraits by Copley, Stuart, Thompson, Alexander, and many other famous artists, as well as miniatures by Malbone and Hall. In many of these rooms the walls were decorated with veritable works of art.

These old colonial houses with their beauty of line, their harmony of detail, and their air of dignity, richly repay study by architects and house owners. More and more we turn to them as models for our modern homes. They are a rich heritage from one of the most important periods of the nation's history, and will ever be cherished for the memories they evoke. Truly American in every respect, they will remain forevermore as revelations of the st.u.r.dy spirit, the breadth of mind, the gracious hospitality, and the fine ideals of our forefathers who built them.