The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1881-07-30
A MOdern-Antique Long Branch
Cottage. su t. -

A MOdern-Antique Long Branch
Cottage. au .ta
A Long Branch letter-writer COW,
Mr.. Victor Newcomb, formerly of ~" ~:
Louisville & Nashville Railroad omS
his family, are occupying their cottago u
just beyond the Elberon Hotel. wbic5;,,
one OF the most elegantly planned ana
finished residences here, and AZ snn,
mer home can not be surpassed II u.
one OF the most unique specimens of the
new-fashioned old-fashioned dwellings
have yet seen. The architecture il ia
English. but the house is far from h..;; E,u
so gloomy In appearance without q,
within as are most of the Queen Anna
houses L have seen here and at Saraforo
The building is being entirely fnis5oS
within in hard wood, a different liza
being used in each room. In one if !.
mahogany, in another maple, in an,
other the California redwood. in an
other oak, and another Georgia nina
A square hall, entirely finished in oaI
even the walls, and having "a ceilino
showing rafters of that wood, occunie:
the center of the first floor. The doo,
OF this hall is tiled with red tiles. to ron.
resent brick floor, except. in the cen.
ter, which is white, checked with rcd
The enormous fireplace has LARGE iron
crane and other implements like The old
time kitchens had. A metal screen
with colored glass panes, draws downin
front of this fireplace and serves as
blower or screen. On one side of tbe
fireplace, provision is made for hanoino
Kettle in which to brew champagne
punch. Champagne punch made by
such an antique fireplace savors
rather of an anachronism, think,
Over all the mantels in the
house are fancy cupboards or
shelves for brio a-brac. am DELIGHTED
the mirror mania has died out, and one
IS not confronted with oneself MAKING
grlmaces in the effort to do the acreea.
bic over every chimney-piece and be.
tween every pair of windows. The
entrance door of the Newcomb cottage
opens horizontally halfway up, as did
the old-fashioned doors when it was
necessary to look out before opening all
the doors to ascertain if friend or foe
sought entrance. A round tower on one
side further suggests the idea of forti.
he'd castle. The main door opens into
the square hall, in which the windows
have small stained glass panes. Large
skins of wild beasts are used as ruos
upon the floor, and pictures on easeis
and statuary on pedestals, with some
quaint chairs, complete the furniture.
All the rooms have low ceilings, but
high wainscotings. In some the latter
extend as much as six feet above the
floor. In the dining room the ceiling,
as well as cornice about two feet deep
Immediately below the ceiling, are of
cork. This material was used not only
to prevent dampness, but also to defy
the powers of all the flies of fytime to
injure it. The spots usual in cork, how
ever, make the ceiling look as if flies
had already done their worst, as was
proved by a lady saying to Mrs. New.
comb in dead sarnest, elbow sorry am
to see that the flies have specked your
beautiful new ceiling SO badlyi Thee y-
gables and recess balconies and
buttresses, the latter lighted with
glass bull's-eyes, as are some of the
gables. ''Don't that gable look as il
stuck-full ofsoda- water bottles?" asked
merry visitor of me. | quite agreed
with him, and expressed my regret that
a rich man like Mr.. Newcomb should be
reduced to the necessity of stopping up
the holes in his new house to keep the
wind away in such manner. In build
| inc those new-fashioned old-fashioned
houses, there seems such an effort after
the realistic in the reproduction that |
fully expect to see in some of them bro
ken panes stuffed up with an old-style
heavy leather boot or yarn sock. The
bull's-eyes, looking like the bottoms OF
soda-water bottles, are an instance of
this realism, since they were used for
stables and attics in olden times, when
glass was not made by the same process
as now, and these bull's-eyes were the
refuse after making panes of glass and
were sold cheap. Another instance OF
the realism is the speckled-cork ceiling
of the dining-room, which so closely i'm
itates fy-specks without being as un-
clearly as the real thing. Despite the
fact that they have just completed their
cottage, begun over a year ago, and
have built and furnished it exactly to
suit them, it is quite possible that Mr.
and Mrs. Newcomb will divide the larger
portion of the summer between cottage,
at the United States Hotel, Saratoga,
and tour in Scotland, his physicians
having recommended Mr.. Newcomb tc
visit the latter country for his health.