Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-06-07


vbons Csssss Ahees.
LONDON Wosid.1
On touching pneumatic button the
door placed in the wall enclosing the
grounds Of Little Campden House opens,
to eli appearance, automatically, and
you find yourself In prsttily laid out
garden At tho further end Of which
stands the abode Of Mr.. vicat Cole.
Walking toward il along . gravelled
path you pass between five or six old
clms--all that remain Of what in the time
Of William III. was noble avenue ex-
tending to the parish church Of st. Mary
Abbott. Beyond the trees, to the right, is
the remnant Of an orangery, which the
present owner ccntemplates enlarging
and extending. In the foreground be-
fore the house q fountain splashes
merri.y, and as you look up at the long,
low building Of two stories you may
notice that its facade is partly masked
by magnolia Of luxu3iant growth, dis
putting with climbing roses the available
space. The first to greet you as you
enter are two canine pets Of Mr.. Cole,
black-and-tan collie, and black-and-
white, Japanese pug Of vegetarian pro-
clivities, being highly appreciative Of
carrots and turnips, and addicted,
to the horror of the gardener, to
eating off the heads Of young let
tuces. From the hall, the tessel-
lated flooring Of which bears the honor
able traces Of age, there rises grand
old staircase, often the object Of admi-
ration as fit subject for the pencil. 1t
is this sense of antiquity, with its asso-
Citations, which gives the house one OF
its special charms in the eyes Of those
with aesthetic tastes, and which carries
the mind back to the time when Little
Campden House was an adjunct to
Campden House, and the nursery Of the
young Duke Of Gloucester at the period
when both houses were occupied by
Princess George Of Denmark, afterward
Queen Anne and her family. Another
incident, somewhat curious, is connect
ed with the history Of the place for it
is said that the plot on which the pro-
perty now stands was won at game Of
cards from Sir Walter Cope, Of Hol-
land House, and the lord Of the manor,
by Alderman Hicks, created in 1852
Viscount Campden, who gave his name
to the mansion he then built. Through
the changeful events of time Little
Campden House is now, however, the
elder of the two houses, for Campden
House, the larger and older one, disap-
peared by reason Of fire in 1862, which
also destroyed the gallery and the outer
balcony that connected the two build
ings. Little Campden House once again
narrowly escaped destruction, when it
took fire during the tenancy and during
the absence in Algeria Of L. Egg, R.
A.. and it was owing to Mr.. Cole, who
then lived opposite, that many Of the
late artists sketches and pictures were
saved from the effects Of the weather,
having been carried out and left unpro-
tected by the unappreciative firemen,
who seemed to esteem upholstery more
highly than art.
Passing through the dining-room,
with its finely carved chimney-piece,
and glancing at the walls, adorned with
some of Mr.. Coles English and foreign
sketches, you enter the conservatory,
where the ferns flourish wonderfully f.;
and through the glass you catch
glimpse Of another garden, where
lawn-tennis ground suggests summers
fayorite recreation. At length you
come to the studio, large and lofty
room, from which there has been
built out smaller one, formerly
used by Mr.. and Mrs. Wigan as
a stage for private theatricals when
Little Campden House was inhabited
by them, but now devoted to the re-
ception of a mass of artistic lumber.
The sea breezes which Mr.. Cole inhaled
in Portsmouth, the place Of his birth,
amid its enliyening scenes Of ships and
shipping, appear to cling to him still,
and to have given him that hardy con-
stitution which renders him proof
against all weathers, and which his out
door life as landscape painter has
tended to foster. From his general ap-
pearance and the miscellaneous con-
tents Of his studio you might be
at fault as to the vocation of its
occupant were it not for the pictures
on the easels and the other artistic ac-
cessories. Here are many stuffed wild
birds in glass cases, some firearms
hanging from pegs, several models Of
ships-two frigates Of Queen Anne's
time in particular, from the late E. W.
Cookies collection of vessels and
barges-occupying shelf, while ma
hogany cabinet with glass doors nearly
fills up one side of the studio, and in it
are stored all manner Of electrical APP
paratus and optical instruments. Then
on table stands a set of vacuum tubes
containing a very unique collection of
phosphorents, which, by the aid of cleo
tricity, are used to illustrate the combi-
nations Of optical colors, and serve fur
Their to demonstrate by experiments
the beautiful, and often unusual, effects
of light and color seen in nature. Mr..
Cole, however, strongly repudiates the
smallest pretension to be considered a
scientific man but having noticed the
apparently inexplicable natural appear.
ances of the atmosphere in respect
to color apd tone, he gladly
ayailed himself Of some of the
lectures Of Professors Stokes, Tyn-
dali, and Lockyer, which aimed at
solving this reconcile question, and to
fix these experiments more firmly in
his memory, and possibly, it is to be
hoped, with aspirations toward further
discovery, Mr.. Cole has gathered round
him some of the delicate instruments
suitable for thepurpose. Asall the world
knows, Mr.. Vicat Cole is landscape
painter in oils; he has, however, de-
voted considerable time to water-colors
also