The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-02-23
: s.FRITz AT HOME"
His Wonderful Castle Thousand Feet
Above the Waters Of the
Hudson.
New York World

Mr. William Oliver, the well known
boat builder of Harlem, has begun the
construction of gondola for Mr.. j. K.
| Emmett, the actor s.Mr. Emmett came to
me about month ago" said Mr.. Oliver to
a World reporter land showed me model
of Venetian gontlola He desired me
to have one built like it. Mr.. Emmett will
retire to his castle on the Hudson very
/ soon. and the gondola must be ready for
him. There are gondolas on the lakes in
/ Central Park and prospect Park. They
were imported Mr. Emmet's gondola
will be SO feet long, feet beam and Is
| inches deep amidships. The keel has been
laid and the knees of the hackmatack are
ready for the side planking, which will be
| of cedar. There will be cabin in the cen
| tire with Venetian blinds. The bow, made
of bright steel, will support swinging
| lantern. It has curve as graceful as the
| neck of a swan. Sixteen people can be
carried in it very comfortably. The
boat will be completed by about the first of
April.
Mr. Emmett. when questioned about his
new house, said: Il have travelled all
over the world. I NAV say. and have al
ways had one object in view-to build
house that could live in when L became
old II is true | have castle on the Hud-
son about ten miles above Albany. 1t is
ZOO feet above the river, and there is no
other house in the world like it. | have
had it built after my own ideas and have
adorned it with curiosities collected at
Rome. Naples, Venice, Hong Kong, Yeddo
and, in fact, every part of the world. |
have sixteen acres of land that once form
ed part of the Van Rensselaer, estate, and
four acres of water forming a lake on
which propose to row my gondola and
another Chimes boat / have, IA junk / be-
lieve it is called. | always did like sailing
in a gondola. But about the castle
Well when you first see it YOU NAV not
rate it very highly. But wait till you get
inside. There are no halls in the castle
nor one corner. At every turn you meet
alcoves and recesses, but no corners and
no halls. The rooms are hung with curl
osities. You cannot imagine what the
house is like and you might not believe
me if | told you what it cost. That's a
secret. l will describe my room to you.
When l awake in the morning | look up
and see three ceiIings-two are circular
domes and one is triangular. My bed is
on one floor and my boots are on an
other. Rocks from the Colosseum and |
wood from the Via Sacra are seen next to |
helmets which would delight the heart OF |
Sir Walter Scott, and Antiquities which |
would give an antiquarian enough pleasure |
for a life"
well, he replied, there are steps con- |
Meeting the floors in the corner-nO. not |
there is not corner in |
the house-but in the recess. | really |
can't describe the ceilings, but / assure you |
they exist The other day my friend John |
and | wee there. and John |
took bath. Here's the way you battle: |
You go into one room on the first floor, |
80 degrees; GO to the second |
floor, the same room, temperature % de- |
grees; third floor. temperature rs degrees.
We have pipes coming from the middle of /
the room and so get three different tempe
natures in one room. When John got |
through he said he had never before had I
such bath The walks and gardens, the |
stables and everything are as unique and
original as the house. Now, when you
ask me when am going to go permanently |
and be really Fritz in Albany or Fritz
1t home you ask me too much. Probably |
not for some time to come, but when | |
10 go am sure of going to comfortable
lome."