Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1919-09-09

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art" or upon mere luxury and enter
tainment, without a sense of sin.
Against SO homespun background
the magnificence of tne Ambersons was
as conspicuous as brass band at a
funeral. Major Anderson bought two
hundred acres of land at the end of
National avenue; and through this
tract he built broad streets and cross
streets; paved them with cedar block,
and curbed them with stone. He set up
fountains, here and there, where the
streets intersected, and at symmetri-
cal intervals placed cast-iron statues,
painted white, with their titles clear
upon the pedestals; Minerva, Mer
curry, Hercules, Venus, Gladiator, En-
peror Augustus, Fisher Boy, Stag
hound, Mastiff, Greyhound, Fawn,
Antelope, Wounded Doe and Wounded
Lion. Most of the forest trees had
been left to flourish still. and, at some
distance, or by moonlight, the place
was in truth beautiful but the ardent
citizen, loving to see his city grow,
wanted neither distance nor moon
light. He had not seen Versailles,
but, standing before the fountain of
Neptune in Anderson addition, at
bright noon, and quoting the favorfte
comparison of the local newspapers
he declared Versailles outdone. All
this Art showed a profit from the
start, for the lots sold well and there
was something like a rush 20 build
In the new Addition. Its main thor
oughfare, an oblique continuation of
National avenue, was called Amber
son boulevard, and here, at the juno
ture of the new boulevard and the
avenue, Major Anderson reserved
four acres for himself and built his
course.
This house was the pride of the
town. Faced with stone as far back
as the dining-room windows, it was a
house of arches and turretS and CIR
ding stone porches: it had the first
pOILC COCIcIS Sccn LII l1ldl LOWAl.
There was a central front half with
great black-walnut stairway, and
open to a green glass skylight called
the "dome," three stories above the
ground floor. A ballroom occupied
most of the third story, and at one
end of 1t was carved a walnut gallery
for the musicians. Citizens told stran-
gers that the cost of all this black
walnut and wood carving was sixty
thousand dollars. "Sixty thousand
dollars for the woodwork alone! Yes,
sir, and hardwood floors all over the
housed Turkish rugs and no carpets
at all, except Brussels carpet in the
front parlor-I hear they call it the
reception room Hot and cold water
upstairs and down, and stationary
washstands In every bedroom in the
place! Their sideboard's built right
into the house and goes all the way
across one end of the dining room. 1t
isn't walnut, it's solid mahogany
Not veneering-solidm mahogany! Well,
sir, l presume the president of the
United States would be Il ,kled to
swap the White House for the new
Anderson mansion, if the Major'd
give him the chance-but by the AL
mighty Dollar, you bet your sweet
life the Major wouldn't"
The visitor to the town was certain
to receive further enlightenment, for
there was one form of entertainment
never omitted: he was always patri-
otically taken for "a little drive round
our city," even if his host had to hire
hack, and the climax of the display
was the Anderson mansion. Look
at that greenhouse they've put up
there in the side yard" the escort
would continue. "And look at that
brick stablel Most folks would think
that stable plenty big enough and
good enough to live in; it's got run
ming water and four rooms upstairs
for two hired men and one of ems
family to live in. They keep one hired
man loafn' In the house, and they got
a married hired man out in the stable,
and his wife does the washing. This
town never did see so much style as
Ambersons are putting on these days;
and 1 guess it's going to be expensive,
because a lot of other folks'll try to
keep up with 'em. The Majors wife
and the daughters been to Europe,
and my wife tells me since they got
back they make tea there every after
noon about five o'clock and drink it.
Seems to me it would go against a
persons stomach, just before supper
like that, and anyway tea isn't fit for
much-not unless you're sick or some
thing. Looks to me like some people
in this city'd be willing to go crazy
If they thought that would help 'em to
be as heightened as Ambersons. Old
Aleck Minafer-he's about the closest
old codger we got-he come in my Of
fee the other day, and he pretty near
had a stroke tellin' me about his