The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-07-23

j. Davis. but Mr.. HaskelRs ideas were
strictly carried out in it, and he must have
been a verltable eccentric, judging by the
sort of habitation he planned for himself.
Part Of the structure is of rough stone
ana the rest Of wood. The wood Is white
oak, rough hewn. most of IT. and taken
from the woods back of the house. The
timbers are in fine condition to this day,
and are now from their long seasoning
as hard as iron. Superintendent Higgins
said it is almost impossible to drive a nail
into the beams. The picture shows the Ely
RE as it appeared shortly after its compile
ton, about 1856. and the structure remains
practically unaltered to this day, save
that it is In places completely over
grown with Wisteria vines, which have
searched their way into the very vitals
of the frame. The main tower. which APP
pears so ~conspicuously in the picture is
now almost lost sight of. 1t is a mass OF
vine. HI tough shoots have forced their
way through the. roof under the caves and
the tower roof is now covered with a
rank. thick growth, SO dense that scarce
ly so much as a piece of the roof OF the
size of ones hand is visible. Once there
were two stone lions on either side OF the
main entrance. Years ago these We're
taken away and stored in the barn. to be
returned to their sentry duty before the
door since the Park Commission obtained
control. A visitor to the park tried to
steal thes lions some time ago, and Mr..
| Higgins proposes to lock them up again.
They are sadly SCARED and battered.
vandals have carved their initials on the
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a flank.
But the Eyrie was not the first house
on this lofty spot. Mr.. Haskell built his
house in front OF an old farm house reared
| early in the present century. This an
| cient structure was a story n a half
high, and very substantially constructed.
You can plainly make it out if you study
the rear closely.
The interior of the Eyrie is a series Of
odd surprises. The walls are still COW
| cred with the paper which SIR. Haskell
| had them adorned with, and by it one
may readily tell the time when the build
ing was at its prime. Old fashioned s
no name for this paper. with its nose
gays of flowers, its large, square blocks
/ and its long. hin lines of gilt and red,
now sadly weather stained and faded to
a sickly hue by the passing of the years.
The arrangement of the rooms is decided
" queer. The front hall is small and in
no way imposing. vet it has a gallery at
the rear Of it, on the second floor land
ing. which from a modern architectural
standpoint is nothing If not grotesque.
The dining room has exposed beams
which were spoiled by being painted,
and have tawdry wall paper pasted be-
| tween them. But oldest of all is the To-
cation of the cistern. The water sup
ply was obtained from tanks on the
| roof which caught the rain water. This
water was conveyed by iron pipes to a
cistern in the cellar. and that cistern is
directly under the centre of the dining
room floor. There was a trap directly
under the middle of the dining room table
provided the table was placed in the cen
tire of the room, as It probably was). and
in order to get water for cooking or drink
ing purposes, unless one went down cell
lar. it must have been necessary to re-
move carpets or rugs. if there were any,
and shove the table back against the
wall. 1t was, too. a most unhealthy ar
rangement, and would bring a Board OF
| Health officer to the house on the double
| quick If it was maintained in many cities
today. The old farm house in front OF
| which the Eyrie was built. was used as
the kitchen. and it is long, dark and ex-
ceedinly low. 1t reminds one Of pictures
In old books of rooms in gloomy old cas-
ties. The windows are of the easement
order. and all it needs is ar old table. a
stool and a knight in armor to make a
perfect scene for any of a dozen situa-
tons in Scott's novels. The superintend-
ent has found 1t necessary to keep the
interior doors of the house open. together
with many of the windows, for he says
that when one first went into it there was
cold. clammy dampness that searched to
ones very marrow. and, If you stayed
there long, saturated your clothes.
AT the rear, behind the old farm house,
Llewellyn Haskell caused to be reared a
big, unsighly brick stack, which effectu-
ally destroyed any artistic beauties the
house may have had. Why did he do it?
II knew him. says Mr.. Higgins. with a
smile. land there's no doubt about it, he
was queer"-and th3it's the only explana-
ton of the existence of the factory-like
chimney hi you can get. There is but
one other chimney in the entire house,
and tina is a tiny affair, half an angle of
the roof. The big stack took off the
smoke from the range in the kitchen, and
connecting with it was a long. board-cov-
cred nue. stretching along the kitchen
smoke from an ~antiquated furnace in the
cellar. The upper room in the main
tower was the best in the house.
1t has a delightful outlook, and
will be a favorite resort for park
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