Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1885-11-20
For ! New york millionaire.


There Is some wonderful furniture
that have seen. Tho suite consists Of
two very large couches, piano. music
cabinet. tables. chairs. footstooIs and
curtains. They are designed and made
for a New York millionaire. who has
given no limit SO far as price Is COM
cerned, so that The very finest mateTir
als and the most skilled work has been
secured The designs are by Alma
Tadema. whose picture, "a Reading
] from Homer" now in the Academy, ie
TO be hung in the drawing-room Tor
which the furniture is intended. | hear
rnmors of friozes and panels hy,Sir
Frederick Seighton, of Roman sculpt-
ors Of work upon the marble for the
same fortunate room, and OF other de-
tails which lead me TO the conclusion
that if money is the root Of all evil, IL
is also the root Of all art.
The o0uches, chairs, and stools are
upholstered in silk of a beautiful shade
of pale gray, traversed by bands of 0x-
quisite embroidery in colors which are
rich, but carefully subdued, as one sees
them in Mr.. Tadema's pictures. The
ground Of this embroidery Is also silk,
the color being precisely that of tho
bloom Of ripe plum. Upon this the
tints of gold and orange, blue, red, and
brown, with slender curved lines Of
pure white, giving q peculiar delicacy
TO the whole, form beautiful scroll
pattern. A rich trellis fringe Of ming
led gray. and gold runs along the edges
of the couches, and beneath it is q
deep silk fringe OF the plnm-bloom
color, which does not show, except in
the effect of depth and richness It inn
parts to the upper fringe.
The woodwork of all this Is simply
incompatible, being a mingling Of
cedar wood, ebony, ivory, and box
wood, inlaid with the finest mothor-o'-
pearl to be had. Wherever there is
corner, a swans head is carved out OF
ebony, large carbuncles forming the
eyes. The labor of bending the ivory
has been immense. for 1t is essentially
brittle substance On the arms OF
the couehes there are long curved lines
of tapering ivory, which approach each
other closely at the base, but gradually
increase the interval Of width as they
rise.
The piano is not yet completed. The
upper part of the musical cabinet Is
copy Of an Asiatic temple The pillars
are Of tnted cedar wood, the delicious
rcd-brown Of that beautiful wood COM
ing out with great effect by reason, Of
the carving. The capitals are carved
ivory Id mellow tint Of warm cream
.eolor. The rest is ebony inIaid with
various woods and with exquisite
mother-o pearl, which glittets 9like
jeweln. The curtains that veil theDsro-
cesses intended for holding the muslin
are Of gray silk embroidered intsOft,
rich coIors, Tyre occupying the Gen
ter.
The round tables are too lovely. The
woodwork matches that Of the other
furniture, but Is not q repetitiong2 In
fact no two designs are precisely alike.
There is something to study il. each
back Of chair, each side Of q stool,
each arm Of couch. The tops Of the
tables are Of Algerian onyx, and they
are like bits Of golden sunsets canght
and fixed to be Joy forever 50 deli
cately, purely, transparently, eifulgent-
ly pink Is the ground OF one Qf these
that it looks as soft rs rose leaf.
though marble cold. Dashes Qf yellow
and orange are splashed upon the
ground. and have cloudy, dreamy
look that makes one think Of summers
skyscapes. London Truth isla ua