Colonial Homes and Their Furnishings

nial period. This is especially true concerning the porch or doorway, for this feature, affording as it does entrance to the home,

d skill to arrange properly, and, considering the limitations of the p

signers of to-day; but they were planned and built by men who were masters in their line, and who taxed their skill to the utmost that r

lumns, and bits of shaped wood, all to be used in the construction of the new home, and incidentally in the porch. It was no e

readth, an impression of the cordiality which is characteristic of that section. Some are semicircular, others square; a few are oblong, and some are three-cornered, fitting into two sides of t

carving. The Grecian column, in its many forms, lends itself in a great degree to artistic effects, often bestowing an originality

d on the architrave, but on the pediments and over the entrance door as well. A good example of the decoration of the architrave is seen on the old Assembly House on Federal Street, in Salem, Massachusetts, wh

this statement is far-fetched, let him take a stroll through some tree-shaded street of an old New England village, and the truth of the assertion is readily revealed. Though the house itself may be old and batter

this period are of the gambrel-roofed type. The second class adorn the succeeding type of dwelling,-the large, square, colonial house, built by the merchant prince, whose ships circumnavigated the globe, and who filled his home with foreign treasures; while the third type is that which or

ticularly fine examples can be seen in Salem, Massachusetts. There is about all of these a dignity and refinement that is unmistakable,

the arched or square roof of the doorway, there is a plainness and simplicity which betokens art, but of such a quiet, unpretentious type that by the untrained eye it is ha

lover, doffing his cocked hat to his lady fair, who, with silken gown, powdered hair and patches, sat at the window awaiting his coming. Those

diner House D

ered among the finest in the city, belongs to this class. Under this doorway passed the late war governor, John Andrew, during visits to his uncle, John Andrew, builder of the dwelling, that he always coveted for his own. The dwelling was one of three built in 1818 on three sides of a training field, which is

e best examples of its type, characterized by perfect symmetry of outline. Numbered among its features are quaint indentations in the door head. This dwelling was formerly the

little more than holes in the wall, fitted with a cheap framing and entirely out of keeping with the exterior, that th

though sometimes they are used as the main entrance. These show either fluted side pilasters, or severely plain columns, surm

an Robinson Hou

ot house on Essex Street. This house was designed in 1745 by an English arc

of worth, who was falsely accused of the murder of his uncle, and who engaged as counsel Daniel Webster. While this case was in progress, Webster brought his son, Fletcher, to the White home, where he met and fell

ing glimpses up and down the street. It has been graphically described by a silent, dark-browed man, who, with two women, came to the dwelling in the dusk of an evening in 1838, and, lifting the old-time knocker, announced his arrival. The door was opened by Elizabeth Peabody, who graciously admitted Nathaniel Hawthorne and his sisters, showed them into the parlor, and then ran up-stairs to tell her sister Sophia of the handsome young man-handsomer than Lord Byron

kirts of their silken gowns, as they gayly mounted the broad stone steps. On the evening of October 29, 1784, Lafayette was entertained in this old home, and five years later, Washington, who had just been inaugurated as the first President of the United States, came here. Concerning h

ction, an excellent example of which is seen on the Whipple house on Andover Street, while surroundi

ide. In the early spring, crocuses clustering about the base of the porch add a touch that is decorative and charming, and the box-bordered garden beds, just in front, filled with masses of pure white bloom, complete a wholly delightful setting. There is about this particular doorway a

ctim of the terrible delusion of 1692, kept a tavern here, and in her gay light-heartedness, she scorned the dictates of the church and insisted upon wearing on Sabbath Day a black hat and a red paragon bodice, bordered and looped with different colors. Her boldness in defying th

rtioned and finely adorned entrance, which, through the remoteness of its location, is rarely seen by tourists. The dwelling of which it is a part was built in 1750 by Captain Thomas Poynton, and this feature, unlike the old Benjamin Pickman porch on Essex Street, whic

rts, emphasizing their beauty. It is not definitely known whether the early owners encouraged the vine-covered porch or not,

Philadelphia, and though these specimens differ radically in design, they are most attractive. One

and and those of the South, yet they combine features of the other types, while at the same time displaying a

nd will afford him excellent models. There is enough variety here in porches which are still preserved to give

re he goes to the architect to develop his plans; he can be assured that study will develop