The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-02-05

NE OF the most D6aQUIul houses
w up the river in the neighborhood
of Maidenhead is that owned by Mrs.
Brown Potter. 1t is indeed fitting set
ting for it's owner, who stands forth
conspicuously, not only as one of the
most beautiful women on the stage, but
one of the accepted beauties of English
life, American though she is by birth.
Her striking physical appearance and
her no less striking attributes of mind
are, no doubt, due to the fact that many
strains of blood mingle in her veins.
There is even a dash of Jewish blood
in her composition, for one of her
grandmothers was a Spaniard, and
daughter of Israel. Mrs. Brown Pot
ter's tastes reflect this admixture Of
nationalities, and Mrs. Brown Potter's
house, in which her tastes find express
sion, is no less significant of those
tastes. The house is at once old in
character, yet up-to-date in every
thing which suggests twentieth cen
fury comfort and advancement. It's po-
sition is typical Of its owners love of
beauty, for it is situated in the long,
curved reach below Taplock Lock, not
far from Clivedon, Mr. Astor's estate.
The grounds, with their beautifully
kept lawns and their beds gay with
flowers-for flowers are Mrs. Brown
Potter's greatest passion-SlOpe down
to the river bank where her boats and
punts are moored. During the terribly
wet days of the early part of June,
when the river was in flood, these
grounds were, for the most part, sub
merged, while the winter following the
building of the house the river rose
to such height that it actually flooded
some of the more exposed rooms on
the ground floor.
When Mrs. Brown Potter selected the
site, she decided that the plan should
be that of Shakespeare's house at
Stratford-on-Avon. In a very little
while, however, she discovered that 1T
would neither be big enough nor COM
large it. Then, when it was built, she
still found that it was not sufficiently
commodious to satisfy the demands of
her hoSpitable temperament, so wings
were Joined, until now it is a delight
fully rambling place. The general char
acter of Bray Lodge, as the house is
called, remains Elizabethan, the lower
walls being of red brick, and the upper
story of paneled stucco, while the
square stairs, the heavy oak doors and
windows, with their diamond loaded
panes retain the medieval effect. The
glass of these windows is, in a way,
one of the triumphs of the house, for
1T was found in some old church Win
dows which Mrs. Brown Potter discov-
cred herself and had broken up. 1t Is
really old glass of a sort which is not
made nowadays. The searching for
and finding of that glass is typical of
Mrs. Brown POtter'S attitude in the fur
nishing of her "house beautiful" for
she uses just what she desires, and be-
ing gifted with consummate taste, she
is able to produce new effects, While
III
and bric-a brac generally has enabled
her to get things which are absolutely
real, so that one might search in vain
through Bray Lodge for a piece of spu-
rious china or an imitation bit of fur
niture, however skillfully that imita-
ton may be made.
In the dining room, for instance, is to
be found one example among many of
Mrs. Brown Potter's individuality. The
table is always decorated in pure white.
The center piece is of white biscuit
ware which Mrs. Brown Potter bought
when she was travelling in France some
years ago. She was absolutely the first
woman to use those little ornaments
for dinner table decoration, and now
they are exceedingly fashionable, many
hundreds of pounds being willingly paid
by people for good specimens, while
some have fetched considerably over
6 200 and even $4,000.
The dining room itself Is an Adams
room, and is covered with heavy car
pet of moss green color. All the rooms
in the house are carpeted with the same
material, so that an unusual, and at the
same time exceedingly harmonious eff
feet is produced. The walls are paint
ed cream, and cream is the color of the
general decoration of the dining room,
relieved with gold, for Mrs. Brown Pot
ter always says: Il love touch of gold
in a ROOM" Over the mantelpiece is a
mirror in gilt frame 1t is copy of
one in the room in which Queen Vic
toria was born in Kensington palace
The chairs, which are of uniform size