New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-12-14
warmth Of homespun was

srt the warmth Of homespun was
tf' .oreath the silk. There is no
- Characteristic onecdote in Mrs.
CIV lords book than that Of the love-
Nv w.. B,ngham's Phlladelphian draw
Mo .oom, where she introduced the for
custom of having the names OF
d" urests announced at different
y n their progress from the hall
fSs'' or,nq a visitor, quite unac-
{" "a with this innovation, heard
' nsme called out repeatedly while
y as removing his coat and nat
= ,,np" he cried. Coming" he eX-
o-..d again. as he heard the call once
'DD and then finally, at another
na. ',,,op. he fairly shouted: Com
r, as soon as I can get my sTe"'co"'
'a crawford notes another con
VI" between eminent position and
H% n,s taste in one Of her stories OF
sMp .,,eton. Old Samuel Fraunces. FOR
the famous tavern, was zeal
nA the steward of the great mans
's lid and one day thought to
b,n with A fine shad, though, as
'ns ". early in the season, he had to
/" .1cassive price. Washington
I@ .o,s6 something, and asked what
' -. ,..vard had spent. Two dollars.
nN 40 80 that worthy. Two dollars!
.,a President. Two dollars for
s.h, Take it away. / cannot en-
.nr,,. such extravagance at my
w.. shall not touch II" Mrs.
....w,ord is very deft In thus illus
.'.r, 90 she goes along, the dual
..,octsr Of life in our social centres
,ursred years ago. The grave de-
,o- the careful speech, the hand
-. dress the attention paid TO the
'n,,,t.s at every point, she duly
axes clear, and at the same time she
.,,Assizes the upright, and one may
.r.n saw noble, drift OF things. Her
,Ook ia lightly touched and hence may
I. ,saa for entertainment. There Is
,,,.h IN It which also makes for seri-
-, r.hection on the sterling ways OF
=. men and women. she portrays.
IN the richly illustrated volume
,,,ch Mrs. Northend has compiled we
..sr again something Of bygone nota-
,nltes. but as is proper in work on
Colonial Homes and Their Furnish
,u" we hear more Of purely artistic
cattsrs. The eighteenth century was
nj with us. a great creative period for
,a,pting and sculpture. Where we ex-
susd IN portraiture. we carried on an
,pglish tradition. SO, for that matter,
re imported from London q good many
i. our furnishings. But in looking
Yer such collection OF pictures as
m, Northend has made, one concludes
hat II Colonial society did not have
,sn Of genius TO celebrate it's brave
ppearance. st had. extraordinarily diff
gsed any amount Of good taste. This
uthor wisely goes through her old
ouses detail by detail. and she tells US
OF only about doorWays, but about
DOR knockers; not only about gardens,
nj about Wallpapers. mirrors, clocks.
nd the like. In her preface she says
nat she has one Of the most valuable
elections Of photographs TO be found
b New England, and we rejoice in that
act, since she has poured her treas
res into her book, exhibiting 70 view
ally brilliant array of beautiful OBJ
cts
The chapters on oldtime wallpapers
ID door knockers are particularly
cod and particularly strong in Illus
atoms. We suppose that only a few
llectors and students are aware Of
le varied cleverness wreaked upon the
d Colonial door knocker. There were
mes when this metal appurtenanoe 10
70 dignity Of some solid burgher's
snsion became an affair Of something
Se original sculpture. There is one, a
edusa head, illustrated in this book,
hich recalls the work OF Renaissance
sftsmen as we see it in European
useums. Mrs. Northend's book is by
self little museum, and a good one.
'e rank ii, as we rank the other vol
mes dealt with in this article, among
s best publications Of the holiday sea-
M