The Coachmen Are Generally Blacks, And The
Horses Are Stout Animals, With Cropped Tails.
The majority have broken
knees, owing to the great slipperiness of the pavements.
Altogether, the occupants of stages are the most secure of the numerous
travellers down Broadway. The driver, on his lofty box, has more control
over his horses, and, in case of collision, the weight of his vehicle
gives him an advantage; and there is a general inclination, on the part of
the conductors of carriages, to give these swiftly-moving vehicles "ample
room and verge enough." While threading the way through the intricate
labyrinth of waggons, stages, falling horses, and locked wheels, it is
highly unpleasant for the denizens of private carriages to find the end of
a pole through the back of the equipage, or to be addressed by the
coachman, "Massa, dat big waggon is pulling off my wheel."
Having given a brief description of the style of the ordinary dwellings of
the affluent, I will just glance at those of the very wealthy, of which
there are several in Fifth Avenue, and some of the squares, surpassing
anything I had hitherto witnessed in royal or ducal palaces at home. The
externals of some of these mansions in Fifth Avenue are like Apsley House,
and Stafford House, St. James's; being substantially built of brown stone.
At one house which I visited in - - street, about the largest private
residence in the city, and one which is considered to combine the greatest
splendour with the greatest taste, we entered a spacious marble hall,
leading to a circular stone staircase of great width, the balustrades
being figures elaborately cast in bronze. Above this staircase was a lofty
dome, decorated with paintings in fresco of eastern scenes. There were
niches in the walls, some containing Italian statuary, and others small
jets of water pouring over artificial moss,
There were six or eight magnificent reception-rooms, furnished in various
styles - the Mediaeval, the Elizabethan, the Italian, the Persian, the
modern English, &c. There were fountains of fairy workmanship, pictures
from the old masters, statues from Italy, "chefs-d'oeuvre" of art;
porcelain from China and Sèvres; damasks, cloth of gold, and bijoux from
the East; Gobelin tapestry, tables of malachite and agate, and "knick-
knacks" of every description. In the Mediaeval and Elizabethan apartments,
it did not appear to me that any anachronisms had been committed with
respect to the furniture and decorations. The light was subdued by passing
through windows of rich stained glass. I saw one table the value of which
might be about 2000 guineas. The ground was black marble, with a wreath of
flowers inlaid with very costly gems upon it. There were flowers or
bunches of fruit, of turquoise, carbuncles, rubies, topazes, and emeralds,
while the leaves were of malachite, cornelian, or agate. The effect
produced by this lavish employment of wealth was not very good. The
bedrooms were scarcely less magnificently furnished than the reception-
rooms; with chairs formed of stag-horns, tables inlaid with agates, and
hangings of Damascus cashmere, richly embossed with gold.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 193 of 249
Words from 100277 to 100791
of 129941
