The Sunday tatler and Jersey City express. (Jersey City, N.J.) 1883-1886, 1885-09-20
4 sENAToRss HOUSE.
A Correspondent Describes Senator Me-
Pherson's Residence in Washington.

Correspondent Describes Senator Me-
Pherson's Residence in Washington.
Among the many superb and expensive
ly furnished residences at the National
Capitol, few exceed in beauty, and in the
artistic taste displayed in its interior dec
Grafton, that of Senator John R. Nc
Pherson. Here ones sense of beauty is
not shocked by Q. vulgar and chaotic dis
play Of costly articles of no artistic merit,
so frequently found in the houses of the
shoddy aristocrats, but every picture, and
every article of yertu bears the imprint of
having been selected by knowing hand,
and with the purchase of each of them
some quaint bit of history is connected.
Delicately stained glass windows throw a
soft light over the oaken paneled apart
ments, and elaborate gas fittings of bur-
nished iron impart a peculiar stately
appearance to them. On entering the
hall one is at once confronted with the
fact that this is an abode of art and good
taste. Nothing commonplace has been
given room. Every piece of furniture is q
gem in itself, and not two of them have
been manufactured in the same establish
ment Even here the walls are hung with
excellent water colors, fine engravings, and
choice etchings A superb candelabra of
FURNISHED iron adds to the charm of this
hall. Entering through the heavy oaken
door into the reception room, bewiIder-
ing picture presents itself. The hazelwoed
floor is not carpeted, but is entirely covered
with oriental mats, no two of the same pat
tern, and some of them of great age and
unique design. A number of old embroi-
dered praying cushions, that once did sery-
ice for a yelled beauty of the harem in a
Turkish mosque, are distributed about the
floor. Pieces of oriental cashmere and
golden cloth are carelessly thrown over
some of the furniture, and others manufac-
tuIed into footstools and benches. Ebony
cases decoratedwith rare carvings occupy the
corners of the room, and all over are placed
curios wrought by the Chinese and Japan
ese. No modern piece Of furniture can be
| found in the room. Each piece represents
a different age, and some of it is so elabor-
ately and beautifully carved that one is in
| voluntarily reminded of the carved altar in
the Joss House at San Francisco. In this
! grand apartment, which extends the whole
length of the house, the walls are nearly
hidden from view by the masses of pictures
! that cover them. From the unobtrusive
! little water colors in the front bay window
we pass to some very fine and elaborate
pictures of that school, and then reach a
series of oil paintings, many OF them from
the easels of famous foreign painters.
Some excellent family pictures painted at
Paris and Rome also attract our attention.
Great glass doors open from the side OF
this apartment into the Senators dining
room, which is furnished in keeping with
the rest Of the house. The walls are heavily
paneled in oak and the ceiling is frescoed
in subdued colors. A novel effect is created
in this room by the discarding of the Gust
omary chandelier and the Introduction of
long FURNISHED iron roll suspended from
the ceiling nearly the entire length of the
room, and upon which are placed large
number of candle-shaped burners, also OF
FURNISHED iron, and held IN place by
wrought iron arebesques. Mr. Mop s
study is gem in itself, and to this he re-
sorts when transacting political business.
It contains large library, and the floors
are piled with books of reference. During
the summer conservatory has been added
to the house. The Senator makes no secret
i of the fact that Mrs. Mcpherson has been
both the architect and the furnisher of this
beautiful home, he having paid no atten-
ton whatever. The lady is quite an ART
connoiseur and is possessed of highly
cultivated mind. By far the great majority
of the articles decorating her Washington
home were purchased at various times dur
ing her sojouIn in Europe, and many OF
them were rescued for trife from second
hand shops, where keepers did not under.
stand their artistic value.