The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-03-31
A UNIQUE PROPOSITION.
Chicago Man Gives 81 900 for Removing
Valuable Wall Paper, Similar to Pattern
which Adorned Walls of a Montpelier

Valuable Wall Paper, Similar to Pattern
which Adorned Walls of a Montpelier
House.
1t will be remembered that the Cross
property at the corner of Elm and Spring
streets in this city was noted for years
because of a highly expensive and beauti-
full paper which adorned the walls of the
parlor So rare was this paper which
described historic events by means of
the artists pencil that people came from
miles around to see it, L. Bart Cross
who is, by the way, no connection of this
branch of the family, tells that in his
boyhood days, youngsters used to sit,
child-fashion, on the floor of this room
while Mrs. Luther Cross described the
panorama before them. The house is
now occupied by w f.. Jackson, the con-
tractor, and the rare old paper has been
given place to modern wall hangngs
The following from the Chicago Tri-
bune concerns a similar pattern which
was rejected in favor of the design which
was hung in the Cross home;
" If James Henley Reeves succeeds in
removing from the house at 345 Maple
street, Hinsdale, the paper now upon the
walls of the dining-room, and delivers
said wallpaper to me at my residence,
1880 Kimbark avenue, Chicago, intact
and in good condition, hereby promise
to pay him the sum of 81 900 "
This is the substance of contract
entered into between Attorney f. H.
Hicks and Mr.. Reeves.
A thousand dollars for removing wall
paperl But that does not seem so much
when you consider that the paper itself
is worth perhaps ten times as much.
In 1880 Luther Cross, Mrs Hicks
grandfather, gentleman of the old school,
and what we of today would call mer-
chant prince, bought from Zebina Camp
a house on Elm street, in Montpelier, Vt.
Among the various kinds of merchandise
in his warehouse were two patterns OF
wallpaper, bought in France nearly
twenty-eight years before and which he
had not been able to sell owing to the
high price be he'd placed upon the paper
With true Naal-ac thrift he had the pat
ferns brought his house that his wife
might choose Viii h Of the two she would
like on the parlor walls OF the new resi-
dcnce. The on, rejected was stored in 9
big chest in the attic and only remembered
when the annual spring housekeeping
time approached.
Children came, grew up, and married
One Hf the daughters, Lucia became Mrs
NJ D. Farwell. In time little Lucia Far
well came upon the scene. You who are
5 New England born and bred alone know
just what an attic means to children. 4
great big roomy attic, covering the entirt
? top of the house Why, there is enter
5 tainment enough up there to last one fo
thirty years, polling through old chests
donning bits of discarded fnery, dressin!
> dolls, and playing ring-around- the-rosy
Little Lucia Farwell's great pleasure
2 was reverently to lift the chest lid, re
= move the beautiful paper, and stretch i
f out on the floor, remaining for hours be
S side it, studying the brilliant panoram
unfolded to her view. The years went b,
t and finally she was married and came t,
r Chicago to make her home. Her fathe
| died and her mother decided to clos
S the old Gross estate and live in thi
= city, too.
So the paper iourneyed from the ches
in the attic and three years ago it wa
e placed on the walls at Hinsdale.
e is hand blocked and panoramic, represent
ing the victory of General Kleiber owe
| the Nizier Jousseff Pasha. 1t was Kleibe
e of whom Napoleon at st. Helens said
D Is He was an irreparable loss to Franc
and to me. on all the generals hav
= had under me, DesaiX and Kleiber pos
e sessed the greatest talents
"On an obelisk in the middle fore
a ground is the inscription in French
ON the 2Oth of March, 1900 1000
e French under command of the BRAY
Y Kleiber, vanquishcd $4,000 Turks on tn
e plains OF Heliopolis