Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1883-05-13
A PRlNCELY PALACE.
The New House OF Cornelius van
derbilt.
maeNIrlceNcg OF THE DECORATIONS.
Exaggerated and Untruthful Statements OF
Corespoadents-Some Notable
Triu@ehs Of Modern kt-A
Gorgeous Dwelling. ...t

Vanderbilt families occupy 90 large q
space in the public eye that 1t would
be a sweet charity for one to ignore the
fact of their existence, but it Is neees'
sary to correct since there is q we'll
founded curiosity on this NATTER the
myriad Misrepresentation concerning
the magnificent decorations which are
now being placed in the new house OF
Cornelius Vanderbilt. The extremity
of the desire OF Mr.. and Mrs. Wander
to have these so ON in the stiffness and
mystery of night, as it were, is only
paralleled by the anxiety OF the cores
pondents to get at them. To my GER
tain knowledge the people whose ousl-
ness it is to look after these decorations
and study their effect as they go In
place, and see what touches and altera-
lions are necessary, are
Challenged Like Sneak Thieves
by the Various lsckeys as they make
their way through the vast hall, al
though by this time one might suppose
their presence might be familiar. Mrs.
Vanderbilt herselfsometimes undertakes
police duty. a young lady who is
painting under one of the principal att
lists was sent up with one of the work
men to take some necessary measure
ments. While thus engaged Mrs.
Vanderbilt entered, respleudent in
morning gown of blue velvet and bill
lowy lace, with friend, and seeing the
Young woman, acCOsted her in no gem
tie tone, what are you doing here"
The inference to most persons less sus-
picious would have been that person
thus engaged had some occasion to be
there. So it happened, and this shows
that politeness is good policy, at least.
The Young lady is connected with some
of the most aristocratic families Oftown,
and there were no special reasons, since
she is not ashamed Of her calling, for
keeping her reception secret. On the
other hand
What WhOppers the Correspondents
Tell
| have read in u half-dOzen papers long
descriptions of the Vanderbilt decora-
tions, purpOrting to be the result OF
special examinations in visit within
the sacred precincts. These letters to
be initiated show, as is the fact, that
they have been no nearer than walk
aroun d the pavement inside. They are
made up of fragmentary bits that have
appeared in New York papers concern
ing ctrtsin details, and, however, neat
~ these mOsaics have been put together
the result is manifestly incorrect when
it pretcnds to give any sort Of descrip.
ton Of the work as it stands. read
one OF these to. day in Boston paper,
al, ;,h &c a
A Specimen Blunder.
II one of these colossal libs may be
singled out as a specimen, let it be this
concerning the magnificent portiere
which the writer describes as hung in
the position he presumcs it is to fill,
which is not the correct one, and the
portiere has, ever since its delivery,
been safely folded away in All upper
room. This portiere has cloth Of g0l d
center, which cost $50 yard. The
price seems q good deal to pay. would
rather have the money in the savings
bank. This, however, is modest sum
to the correspondent, who states with
out blush that it was made by Tiffany
& Co., and that the gold used would
have coined $30,0OO. The fact is that
the cloth was made to order by Chenery
4 Co., under the direction of Miss
Tillinghast. This portiere, which is
certainly one OF the finest things ever
produced Ivy the needle, has the story
of
Eneas' Adventures In Carthage,
after Raphael's cartoons, arranged by
Mare Antonio in the Vatican, set about
the cloth of gold center, which
is toned in Il peculiar way
into relations with the en-
broidery. The richness ofthe materials,
the wonderful execution, the superb
color have excited so much admiration
that fabulous stories are abroad con-
ed every other day that Mr.. Vanderbilt
paid for it $50, 900 and on the alternate
days that he paid $4,000 Mr.. Wander
bilt paid exactly $500 for il, which is
not 10y amy means what 1t cost to
produce. Mr.. Vanderbilt did pay $780,
600 for his Windsor machine. made
tapestries, six prices, but why he paid
anything for them is one Of these things
that no fellow can find out. On the
other hand, it is as publicly stated that
while the artists receive such immense
prices for their work, ii is
Ground Ont OF Poor Girls.
to whom are paid 81 day, while the
bloated primer pals pocket the proceeds.
Again, the fact is that the
girls who did the greater part
Of the curtain-that MOI done by
the principals-were artists with the
brush rs well rs the needle and were
paid from Sl1 to so week. 1t Is all
tLesa taradiddles which make your cor
respondent feel that If something is to
be said in the matter, why not tell the
truth? And if description Of the Van.
derbilt decorations is demanded by the
public, why not describe the decorations
instead of drawing the long
bow of the Imagination The
vista of three Of the rooms in the Cor.
nelius Vanderbilt house is certainly
worth good deal of detailed descrip-
tlon, since in importance it not only eX
cecds anything that has ever been done
in this country, but ranks with that done
in those old fifteenth century days, not
only in magnilicence, but as art work.
The Main Entrance.
The entrance to the tower Is on Fifty
seventh street and by spacious doors,
set with glass panels. On the right
hand within is a small room called the
Office, with ceiling Of glass, a dainty
piece of work by La Fargo. The hall
proper is reached by three or four broad
oak steps, directly confronting the man.
tel-piece, whose place is now filled by a
piece of old tapestry. The hall runs
parallel with Fifty-seventh street and is
finished in oak, with much carving.
The grand staircase is at the other end
and doors leading to the drawing.room,
which is on the avenue, are on the right
of the entrance. The dining. room Is
the first Of the suite opposite. A small
conservatory on the street opening into
the dining.room gives the only horizon.
tai light, for there are no windows in
the room, the light falling through the
stained.glass panes Of the ceiling.
The Dining.yoom
dimensions are 45x22 feet. The proper
tions would have been noble ifthe walls
had been higher. Unfortunately, the
ceiling is brought down by the panels,
which are now in place. AS there are
no YOOms ahnya IN haya pravaptaI