Evening star., 1932-05-01
BY PAULINE A. FREDERICK.

tains in the friendly drawing room
of the Harlan Fiske Stone home had
been drawn. Warmly shaded lights
cast their reflections against the ivory
walls. The figured rug with its pre-
dominance of blue, and the blue and
buff divans formed sympathetic back
ground for flowers and silver. Pink
tulips, pink and white snapdragons and
Easter lilies lifted their exquisite blooms
from vases on the grand piano and con-
sole tables. The tea table was re-
splendent with its silver service and
delicate china.
The hostess who presides over this
attractive drawing room is one OF the
ladies of the Supreme Court" Proffer-
ing dainty caviar sandwiches and tea
to a guest recently, Mrs. Stone observed:
Il like to talk over teacups, 1t seems
to be an excellent way to get ac-
quointed' with people"
There was an air of Savoir faire
about this little lady in the dark green
ensemble-her gown was of crepe made
on simple lines with revere collar, and
her hat was a closely nodded turban.
Somehow. she sensed the flneneSS that
attaches to things which are done with
simplicity and charm. Moreover, like
an artist, she had the ability of lifting
details into effective designs, not only
with regard to the decoration and at
noSphere of her home, but also with re-
gard to the subjects of conversation to
which she turned with ease and en-
thusiasm.
A New England country home in
Southern New Hampshire at place
called Chesterfield, was the birthplace
of this Washington hostess, the former
Agnes Harvey AS a girl, she attended
a New England academy. Riding was
her favorite recreation.
Not far from the girlhood home OF
this LADY of the Supreme Court" there
lived a family with a son by the name
of Harlan Fiske Stone. 1t was in early
childhood that Agnes Harvey first be-
came acquainted with the son Of the
Stones. This friendship ripened into
romance in later years, and eliminated
in marriage when Mr.. Stone completed
his law work at Amherst and Columbia
University.
Today the woman who literally be-
gan life as the playmate of tousel-
headed lad, is the hostess of an Asso-
ciate Justice of Americas highest tri-
bunal-the Supreme Court of the
United States. And the intervening
years have been fraught with respon-
sibilities which have carried her into
various ways and places of life, always,
dominant interest.
Justice Stone upon receiving his law
degree, begn legal practice as mem
ber of the. New York bar. In addition,
he lectured at Columbia University Law
School, and a little later became dean
of the Law School. He held the latter
position from 1910 to 1914, when he
resigned to engage more actively in pri-
Yate practice.
In that same year, however, President
Coolidge summoned him to Washington
to head the Justice Department as At
torney General. Thus was Mrs. Stone,
for the first time, inducted into the
position of an official hostess. In less
than a year, vacancy appeared on the
Supreme Bench, and Mr.. Coolidge ap-
pointed his Attorney General to fill it.
And so was reached "the highest am
bition in the life of any lawyer" and
Mrs. Stone became a member of the
interesting Supreme Court circle.
Mr.. Justice and Mrs. Stone have two
sons, Marshall, who graduated from
Harvard College, is professor of mathe
matics at Yale, and Lauson, a Harvard
College and Columbia University Law
School graduate, is following the pro-
fession Of his father and practicing law
in New York City
When the Stones first arrived to take
up their permanent home in Washing
ton eight years ago. a perplexing prob
lem presented itSen-and all for the
sake Of library. Mrs. Stone related
in an interesting way her experiences
in house hunting"
ST was looking for a home which
would provide large library for my
husband" she explained. II think in
the process of hunting such a place,
at IL = l.,
AT last We decided to build the type we
wanted, and we had such good time
doing it,
This was the case therefore of build
Ing home around a library, flgura-
lively speaking, which after all, seemed
TO be a commendable procedure. The
architectural and decorative result, too,
has been most successful The hand
some structure is of red brick. of Eng
lish design. Upon entering, one gains
the impression of spaciousneSs with the
drawing room to the right and the din
ing room to the left. The staircase goes
hall, and a type of balcony crosses the
back OF the room to the right.
You see, it really is more like a
country home than a town house, for
large part of the living quarters is on
the first floor" Mrs. Stone suggested,
Adjoining the drawing room, yet
closed off from it, is the library where
the Justice spends much of his time.
The high ceiling is RATED in English
baronlal fashion, and the tall loaded
glass windows have symbols of the law
worked into them near the top. Al
though the rows upon rows of shelves
IN this room are lined with books, Mrs
Stone informs you that the stacks"
are in the basement
Looking about this attractive home,
one becomes impressed with the feeling
that some one with the appreciation
ana talent OF an artist had a hand in
It's decoration. The instinct proves to
be accurate, for Mrs. Stone admits that
she acted as her own interior decorator
l wanted to do my own decoration, :"
she pointed out, because feel that an
interior decorators work cannot express
another's personality. I wanted my
home TO express my own personality as
much as possible. Sometimes a home
that is done by a professional decorator
looks like club. But, of course, there
are many decorators who do excellent
work in homes. There is another rea-
son, too, why I did the decorating my
self have always enjoyed working
out the details of a room"
Then there is the MANAGEMENT Of
her home to which Mrs Stone turns
with a feeling of pride and Joy She
does her own marketing and personally
superviSes the domestic affairs of her
household
1T seems to be a wife's job" she
avoWed pleasantly, Ito take care of
many little details which are often un-
noticed II done, but which attract a
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