The Evansville daily journal., 1856-03-17
From Miss Murrays English Woman in America" /"
Extravaganza of American Houses.


Extravaganza of American Houses.
Having given brief description of the or
dinary dwelling of the affluent, | will just
glance at those of the very wealthy, of which
there are several in Fifth Avenue, and some of
the squares surprising any thing l had hitherto
witnessed in royal or ducal palaces at home
The externals Of some of these mansions in
Fifth Avenue are like Apsly House and Stat
ford House, st. James, being substantially
built of Brown Stone AT one house which /
visited in street, about the largest pri-
vate residence in the city, and one which is
considered to combine the greatest splendor
with the greatest taste, we entered spacious
marble hail. leading to circular stone stair
case of great width, the balustrades being fig
ures eaborately cast in bronze. Above this
staircase was lofty dome, decorated with
paintings in fresco of eastern scenes. There
were inches in the walls, some containing Ital-
ian statuary, and others small jets of water
pouring over artificial moss.
/ hThere were six or eight magnificent recep-
ton rooms: furnished in various sryles-the
Medieval, the Elizabethau, tie Italian, the
Persian, the modern English, &c. There were
fountains of fairy workmanship, pictures from
the old masters, statutes from Italy, chefs d'e-
uvre of art; porcelain from China and Sevres;
damasks, and cloth of gold, and bjoux from
the East; Gobelyn tapestry, tables of mala-
chite and agate, ''nicknacks' of every descrip-
ton. In the Medi@vel and Elizabethan apart
ments, it did not appear to me that any anach-
ronisms had been committed with respect to
the furniture and decorations. The light was
subdued by passing through windows of rich
stained glass. | saw one table, the value of
which might be about 1000 guineas. The
ground was black marble, with a wreath Of
flowers, inlaid with very costly gems. There
were flowers, or punches of fruit Of torquoses,
carbuncles rubes, topaZes and emeralds, while
the leaves were of malachite, cornehun, or ag
ate The effect produced by this lavish en-
ployment of wealth was not very good
The bedrooms were scarcely less magnif-
Gently furnished than the reception rooms
with chairs formed of stag horns, tables inlaid
with agates and hangings of Demascus CASH
mere, richly embossed with gold. There was
nothing gaudy, profuse, or prominent IN the
decorations of furniture; every thing had evil
IDENTIFY been selected and arranged by per-
son of very refined taste. Among the very
beautiful works of art was collection OF ca
meos, including some ofCellini's, from the an
ltioue. which was really enhancing to look
lupon Another mansion, which N. L. Willis
describes as "a fairy palace taste and art"
and possessed large Winter garden. This
was approached by passing tbro' succession
of very beautiful rooms, the walls of which
were hung with paintings which would have
delighted connosseur. Itwas glass build
ling with high dome, fine fountain playing
lin the centre, and around its marble basin,
were orange, palm and myrtle trees, with 9th
ers from the tropics, some of them of consider
able growth. Every part of the floor that was
not of polished white marble was thickly car
peted with small green ferns. The CLEAN OF
white marble statues, from among the clumps
r of orange trees and other shrubs, was particu-
3 larly pretty indeed, the whole had fairy like
appearance about it.
Such mansions as these were rather at va
rance with my ideas of republican simplicity;
they contained apartments which would have
thrown into the shade the finest rooms IN
Windsor Castle or buckingham Palace. 1t Is
not the custom for Americans to leave large
fortunes to their children; their wealth is
spent in great measure in surrounding them
selves with the beautiful and the elegant in
their splendid mansions; and it is probable
: that the adornmcnts which have been collect
ed with so much expense and trouble will be
: dispersed at the death of their present pos
SCISSORS.
GTFlour is selling in Bastrop at $12 pei