Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1899-03-30


TO Occupy Them-tf Not Death Then
Disaster Bars the Doors.
well known man refusing for super
stitious reasons to live in a beautiful
house he had built until some one else.
perfect stranger, had occupied it for
some little time
# eyer there has been superstition
that appears justified by solid fact and
precedent ii is that which prevails
about the building of house. Few
who erect costly mansions for their
own use ever live TO occupy them. An
i'll fate seems to bar the doors of these
abodes upon which has been lavished so
much thought and money and hope
Sometimes it is death and sometimes it
is ruin that oyertakes the owner
sp widespread and SO powerful is this
strange superstition that one finds even
an intellectual man like Lord Salisbury
insisting on leasing to strangers for sew
eral months the beautiful home which
he has had erected for himself at Beau
lieu. on the Riviera. before ne will con-
sent to occupy if himself or to permit
any member Of his family to cross its
threshold
Lord Salisbury. however. has only to
look round him in London to find ample
grounds for the adoption of such ex-
traordinary and at first sight unneces-
sary precautions The completion of
Lord Revelstoke's palace in Charles
street coincided with the bankruptcy of
the great firm of Barring Bros, of
which be was the principal. and it has
remained eyer SINCE an exquisite monu
ment to the futility Of human hopes and
ambition
Mr.. Sanford had hardly finished 1e-
building the exterior Of his magnificent
mansion in Carlton House terrace when
the collapse of Argentine securities oc-
Cured. involving him in ruin and com
pelling him TO dispose of it to Mrs.
Mackay. of Bonanza fame
The Marquis de Santurce, having
purchased the neighboring house from
Lady Granville, spent fortune upon
the reconstruction and adornment of
the interior But before the work was
completed he in turn was oyertaken by
the terrible disaster which befell the
well known Anglo Spanish banking
house Of Murrieta. of which he was the
chief director. and he had no alterna
tive but to sell the house to Mr. W. "
Astor.
The downfall of Hudson. the railway
king. occurred at the same time as the
completion of the great house be was
having built for himself at the Albert
gate entrance to Hyde park. while in
the same manner Baron Albert Grant
witnessed the piecemeal sale Of the gor
geous palace he had erected at Kensing
ton, but was never destined to occupy
This is why there are, comparatively
SO few new mansions of palatial char
acter either in London or the country
Persons possessed Of adequate means
and in need of either a town or country
residence prefer as rule to purchase
homes that have been lived in to build
ing new ones If they do any building
at all they. in general cause it to take
the form Of additions to or alterations
Of edifces no longer new
Even then the owners endeavor to
safeguard themselves from the possibil.
ity of danger by letting their residences
for the express purpose, as they say in
France. of "wiping the dust from off
the plastered walls
Nowhere is this superstition more
powerful than in Bavaria, where many
of the most picturesque spots. especial
ly in the mountainous districts. are
adorned with fairylike palaces. None of
them has been entirely completed. for
insanity and violent death overlook the
brilliant and accomplished King Lud-
wig. who conceived their design, but
unfortunately perished before their
completion
Nor even have the builders of many
of the splendid structures that adorn
the French metropolis been more fortu-
nate Thus NJ Jules Greyy had scarce
ly completed the construction Of bis
Iordly mansion in the Avenue d'Iena
when the scandalous behavior of HE
son law, Daniel Wilson. overwhelm-
ed him with disgrace and compelled
him to resign the presidency of the re-
public amid perfect hurricane of pub
lie obloquy
The Empress Eugenie's only sister
the late Duchess of Alba had not occu-
pied the lovely palace erected for her
in the Champs Elysees more than few
months before she was seized with a
sudden illness and died there in man
ner so mysterious as to give rise to ru-
mors Of foil play The building was
subsequently pulled down
Another equally unlncky house is
that now owned by the widow of the
late Baron Hirsch Situated at the col
ner OF the Rue de Elysee and of the
Avenue Gabriel it was erected 10y the
Due De Mouchy He had not occupied
the house more than few weeks before
it was the scene Of daring burglary
thst covered its noble owner with ridi
ruie Two months after his daughter
dled there so suddenly and under such
strange circumstances that the duchess
would not consent to remain longer in
such an il! onienei house London
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