Evening star., 1937-06-12


or sideways. The back Is made of
glass wall brick. its first use in a
Washington dwelling. The glass is
but passersby might as
well try to look through stone wall
The side OF the living room, being OF
glass, illumines the whole back yard at
night-a nice feature, as it is flanked
by wooded lots. Too, the glass is seen
to best advantage under artificial light
Indirect lighting and air conditioning
are used throughout. Venetian blinds
shade the windows. There is the soft
sheen OF many mirrors.
These are few OF the details that
distinguish the Perkins domicile. Its
unique quality grips the visitors at
tention from the minute she ascends
the winding fiagstone path to the door,
This Is largely due to the location Of
the windows, which. almost without
exception, are placed at the corners
OF the house. Thus, they afford dou-
bic exposures and cross ventilation
without the loss Of wall space.
Not that the Perkinses thought in
these terms when they first began to
plan the home Of their dreams. I'VE
just mapped out the structure" said
Mrs. Perkins, "and the doors and WIN
dows fell into line, evolved from the
interior plan"
"COME on outside" she continued
cordially. You can get the ef-
feet Of the corner windows best from
the back. And shall be mortally Of
Tended If you don't comment on my
floral efforts. At least, they're a be-
ginning" Mrs. Perkins is planning a
wild woods garden at the back of the
house and has already transplanted
violets, ferns and arbutus, as one
problem is to obtain flowers that grow
naturally under trees. Ten tiny rose
bushes stretch energetic tendrils toward
the brick wall that they are supposed
to cover eventually. The porch at
the southwest corner Of the house is
to be rose-embowered, too. But, for
PHYS sake, please don't ask me when, ="
sighed the lady Of the manor. I'm
afraid it will be many weary moons
before that happens"
To Enid Perkins, reared In New
York apartments, the roses are 4 mile
stone, for they represent her first
flower garden. There's such 4 salts
faction in digging and getting really
dirty" she said. I'm always sticking
in some sort Of flower. I read all
sorts OF gardening magazines and hints
In floral cultural, too. It's positively
appalling the number Of pests that
are enumerated after those one wants
especially-the lists are often longer
than the data on the flowers them
selves Oh, for q species that has no
bugs to haunt 1t. But It's grand fun
all the same. and gardening is rapidly
becoming q hobby with me-"
Book collecting is another hobby,
and one which she shares with her
husband, who is research director for
the National Association Of Food
Chains. They are interested espec-
tally in limited editions and in first
editions Of modern authors. James
Branch Cabell is q great favorite with
them and they have autographed
copies Of all his works. Symbolical
Of the famous Virginian's rank in
their favor Is the exquisite map Of
"the Cabell country that hangs In
the walnut-paneled study on the first
floor. There is depicted the imagin-
ary country of "Poictesme. where
the scene OF most Of the Cabell stories
Is laid. Most attractive IS the illum-
mated border, which pictures the vari-
Gus gods who were won't to fly to
the rescue Of distressed Cabell heroes.
THE map was created by Mrs. Per-
kins, who numbers cartography
among her many accomplishments.
AS for illuminated manuscripts, she is
"self-taught at the Library of Con-
gress." The rare book room there
has some OF the finest books known
on that art" and Mr.. Parma, the cura-
tor, "is most helpful" The long,
tedious hours Of study have brought
results. and our clever hostess has done
a great deal OF work along this line.
She has made family histories and
genealogies and is particularly inter-
ested in doing small books, such as
volumes Of poetry.
The mention of poetry gave us
chance to inquire about Land Of the
Pheasant and the Deer" her trans
lation Of certain Maya legends. Il
believe there's a copy in the living
room," she said. leading the way.
Looking back at the distinctive metal
lie copper wallpaper, the book-lined
walls and the handsome maps OF the
study, one could understand why "the
family practically lives here when we
aren't eating or sleeping" Incident
ally, there is sun deck atop the
study.
The living room is up to the stand
ard Of the study-as is everything in
the house, for that matter. A mounted
knight in Louis Fanchur drawing
seems to be charging out of his frame
at the other end Of the room. Two
ladies from Chicago's
Boulevard grace either end
Of the tall mantel over the fireplace.
Then there are quantities of tricky
little boxes scattered about, and the
furniture Is modern in character.
Mrs. Perkins book took all our at
tention for the moment, though. Old
tales Of Maya folklore are recounted-
tales that bear . surprising likeness,
some Of them. to our own Bible stories.
as, for instance. that Of the food
which descended upon the MAyas rs a
for their sins. There Is
an interesting story back of the books
publication. The material was first
by the then Mexican Minis
ter to Costa Rica, himself o. Maya
descent. Mrs. Perkins met him while
. resident Of the Costa Rican capital,
became interested in the project and
the stories into English.
They were brought out In Mex1eo
year or 20 ago rs correlated reading
for school children and may be pub.