The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-05-10
House Under the Seine.

 House Under the Seine.
 I have just visited what is probab l ly the strangest house in all the world a house so weird. so fantastic. so beau tiful, and so mysterious that al France. Cthat Is. all France that
 knows about it.) is thrilled with GU.
 riosity and consumed with desire tc | see 1t.
 The house. which is situated under
 the River Seine, between Meltun and | Sens. within a few miles of Paris
 was built by County Victor de Lar.
 neau, a young aristocrat, the pet ot | Faubourg St. Germain, who, disgustsd
 with the emptiness of social life. left
 this city to spend the rest of his life
 in a veritable fairy palace with . few | friends.
 Young victornde Larneau was a
 student from his earliest years. a gay.
 handsome, young fellow, with an art
 ist's instinct and some training in art
 both as painter in small way and
 as a critic. Keenly interested in so-
 ciology, active in a quiet way in works
 of charity, a lover of the gay, the
 beautiful, and the artistic, he plunged into the world of Paris-and the Cap ital received him with open arms
 For years he was one of the princi- pal figures among the gay younger set. Received everywhere because of his grace. his culture. and his wealth he was one of the most popular young men in the city.
 But in due time Paris palled upon him. He retreated for a time to his apartments, but his friends found him out there. The he travelled for two years, fleeing from the jests and laugh ter of companions who interested him no longer. When he returned. he re- treated to his estates between Melun and Sens, and there built his now fa- nous palace under the seine.
 The other day Dr. Larneau invited me with three of his most familiar Parisian friends to visit him in his new home. From the station we travelled along the banks of the river in. motor car. Then we stopped. No building was in sight.
 Before us was a marble grotto. with sculptured images on either side Into this we are requested to step, and an instant later we were surprised to find that we were descending slowly into the earth. For fifty feet we went down. then the elevator stopped, and we were ushered into a beautiful reception hall. where De Larneau met us with extended hands and bade us welcome to his new home.
 We dropped from the glare and heat of the day into the most delicious cool 1 ness. Air famed gently by ventila- tors moved through the rooms. with all the dampness taken from 1t with | the heat. Tn the middle of the marble | reception hall a fountain played, the | water being drawn from the river. l Fish swam in the pool. and the whole | room was flooded with soft mellow | light.
 From there we went into the mar | vellous library, directly under the river | Itself. In the center of the big room, In the ceiling, was a greenish white space fifteen feet square. It was of | glass, and the river. flowing over five of toughened glass let the light down through the water and glass into the room, while electric | lights hidden in the ground glass, the room. The choicest tapestries and the deepest chairs were here, besides a great table spread with he favorite possessions of the owner of the house. nore. It opened into a beautiful gar len, the flowers in which were rich n perfume and of strange tints. No Iunlight had reached them and they acked the hardness and deep. riot nus colors of the sun-bred flowers. | Be admitted to his friends that he did lot desire to become a hermit-merely hat he wanted to be away from the alsity of society.
 Since then the tales. of the wonders # the place have set Paris wild with to see it. Scores, including ome of the beautiful actresses to vh om he paid attention. have written, egging for invitations to visit him, nd received no reply. He insists upon l hutting out all those except the ones is heart desired at that moment.