The Washington herald., 1907-10-06

I
not ] 90 not know At all events the
/ Kelly chateau" II II may properly be
so termed. stands in a class by itself
/ Il contains only two rooms-Quarters of
/ the guard in olden dayS-and. therefore
/ Kelly also took two houses within the
tower wall, facing a street and backing
up TO the tower. The houses are very
old also. though not as ancient as the
+ tower. One Is larger than the other
and apparently they We're built to serve,
one as the residence Of a family OF some
/ pretensions and one for the servants of
/ the family Each has ten or twelve
/ rooms. Originally they were not con-
/ nccted with the tower, but Mr.. Kelly has
! built passages that make the three struc-
! lures practically one.
Two Remarkable Rooms.
The tower is forty or fifty feet high and
Of an oblong ground plan, the end which
projects outside the wall being rounded,
while the other end is square The outer
| walls are thirteen feet through, and the
/ wall between the TWO rooms is Of the
/ same thickness. The outer room-in the
/ round end OF the tower-which is now
/ used as a library. is lighted by three mar
]
/ The rooms are connected by a door.
which resembles nothing so much as a
short tunnel
! The inner room contains a wonderful
| fireplace. high enough for a man TO stand
/ upright in, and deep enough fer one TO
sit inside it and enjoy the fire on a cool
/ day without being scorched. = is so wide
/ that sticks Of American four-foot cord
wood would be too small 20 feed its fire
with; it takes veritable logs, six or eight
/ feet long, and so cool is the tower even
/ in warm weather, that fire is comfort
/ able IN mid-July. Near the fireplace
/ stands an organ, on which Mr.. Kelly
/ often plays, and plays well, too. His col
/ lection of books is so extensive that they
overflow the outer room and occupy much
/ Of the inner ones wall space.
/ Both rooms are very high. with groined-
/ arch ceilings, and although IL might be
/ expected that they would be rather
/ gloomy lighted only. as they are, by win
/ dows cut through such thick walls. they
( are furnished with warm c0lOrs, that
/ make them very cheerful indeed espe-
/ cially when the great fireplace is aglow
/ with burning logs. The fireplace. by the
way. is supplemented nowadays by an up
/ to-data American fireplace both winter
and summer.
} Attractive as the owner Of the tower
/ has made his two pet rooms, they are not
/ a whit more SO than the top Of the tower,
/ the top Of the town wall adjoining and
/ the terraced grounds outside the wall,
/ which form part of the property.
/ This towers top, ike that of all the
! others which once helped protect the
/ town OF Coucy-de-Chateau. Is covered
/ with several feet OF earth. Tn this soil
/ Mr.. Kelly has planted trees Part OF its
/ surface is s0dded and there are winding
/ gravel walks. Flowering plants have been
/ set out there. Under the shade Of the
/ trees seats have been placed. and there
/ sometimes the meals are eaten, al fTesCO,
/ I'm the thick shade Of the trees. the de-
/ lights of the lofty roof garden being sup
/ piemented by a wide view Of the smiling.
/ cultivated surrounding plain, which is
/ dotted here and there with prim French
] villages. The terraces are treated in har-
/ mony with the towers top.
/ At present Mr.. Kelly Is in America,
| where he was obliged TO go not long ago
/ for his health, but while he has given up
/ his residence i'm Paris and sold out his
/ law practice he has not relinquished his
/ tower house at Coucy-de-Chateau. He is
/ sixty, perhaps, tall, dresses and looks like
I a genuine American, despite his long resi-
I dence m France, and. of course has
/ amassed a comfortable fortune. since
his legal fees have been large. Unlike
( many American residents here. he is not
especially devoted to the automobile, pre-
/ ferring horses to motors as a rule.
Gardner's House Full of Pictures.
Frank L. Gardner's house, built along
the fortifcatlons Of Paris at Ia Muette.
on Avenue Raphael, and TO the west OF
the Passy district, is famous among
Parsians, as well as his own country
men. II is filled with art objects. which
he has gathered from many sources. at
an expenditure, say those who know, of
/ little, If any, less than a round two
I miliions-of dollars, not francs.
Gardner started life in Philadelphia. As
! a theatrical agent or manager he went 10
! Australia. There he deserted the busi-
ness end Of histrionics, went in for gold
mining, struck it rich. and amassed a for
/ tune; how large may be conjectured only.
/ but Parisiaus and his countrymen here
/ put # at from fifty millions 10 one and
a half times that great sum-doTars
/ again not francs. For some time after
/ coming here he remained president of the
/ Golden Horseshoe Mining Company. and
( at one time was interested in the manu-
/ facture Of automobiles. He reIinquished
/ his mining presidency some time ago.
! however, has given up automobile maxi
+ ing. and is now q man OF leisure. He has
/ lived here twenty years. and knows
I everybody who is In the swim.
/ Gardner's art collection really is worth
while, although. of course, it contains
/ some things probably that are not Of the
/ first water He owns one of the five
/ authenticated detached paintings by
/ Michael Angelo lie has a "ufe-size" por-
/ trait of Philip II, by Titan. and RaphaeTs
! celebrated Venus and Cupid, besides a lot
/ Of statuary, ivory carvings. and other
! fine things. A baptismaI font, made for
/ Napoleon III, is also in Gardner's pos
/ session. and, with fine American lack OF
/ reverence for imperial relics. he has
/ turned it into a bird cage He likewise
/ owns music box which was presented to
/ that son Of the first Napoleon who was
/ made King of Rome and called IsAiglon,
/ and who lives again on the stage some
/ times, in the person Of Sarah Bernhardt
/ OF Maude Adams, as the case may be.
/ Gardner's greatest joy perhaps is the
/ Venus and Cupid" by Raphael for
which he paid $4,000. It was originally
/ IN the collection of a certain Prince Bor-
ghese, an italian Of the same family as
the prince Of that name who recently out
distanced al competitors in an automo-
bile trip from Pel1in TO Paris. Gardner
bad a great time getting the picture 10
Paris, owing to the Italian governments
rule that no great objects of art should
/ be taken out Of Italy.