Historic Homes of New England

by Mary Harrod Northend

The upper hall has an elliptical arched window and a hand-carved balustrade. It is of the same proportions as the lower hall, and it, too, is fitted up as a living-room. Beautiful pieces of furniture are well chosen and well placed. A large bookcase showing torch ornamentations contains rare books that cannot be duplicated. In each one is a bookplate, the work of Henry Middleton. A certain charm pervades the second story of this mansion, which does not lie in the furnishing but in the architectural details of the window, the pilasters, the hand-carving of the balusters, all of which are simple but unusual.

Large, square chambers open from either side of the hallway, and like the rest of the house are furnished in seventeenth-century pieces. The fireplace, decorated with bow and arrow design, is of Scaglioni composition and was found in an Italian palace. The furniture of this room is unusually rare. There is not a single piece of ordinary make.

The bed is a fine example of Sheraton, showing a tester, and decorated in gilt bows and arrows brought out clearly on the white enamel. This bed, showing the cupid pattern, was purchased for the first bride of the Middleton house. It has within recent years been repainted, but the pattern kept intact. Unique are the drapings of this bed, the counterpane being very rich gold and white satin lined with white and edged with French lace. The same idea has been carried out in flounce and hangings. The chairs are also rare examples of Sheraton, and follow the color scheme of the room.

Plate XCV.—Bridal Chamber, Middleton House.

A second chamber in this house has a fine four-poster imported from Leghorn at the time when the house was built. It is a Chippendale and one of the best examples of that master's designs. A painting in this room is very valuable, being a picture of Lady Mornington, the mother of Wellington. It was painted by her daughter, Lady Berghurst, who posed her model with a gazette in her hand containing an account of the battle of Waterloo.

A most interesting collection of furniture belonging to the deWolfs shows earmarks of the old masters' designs kept in the group of houses that were built by this distinguished family. The most prominent being the house of Charles deWolf. It was a large, square structure with roof sloping on all sides, and containing low-studded and spacious rooms that were heated by fireplaces only. An odd feature of this house were the hallways, running at right angles and meeting in the center. Spanish furniture, richly carved and showing odd patterns, vied with French pieces in magnificence.

The walls of the double drawing-rooms were hung with paper showing birds of paradise in brilliant plumage. Between the two rooms were gorgeous portières of gold and silver damask. On state occasions the table bore solid silver candelabra and goblets of gold, spoils of the early siege of Oyapoc.

Here General Knox of Revolutionary fame was a frequent visitor. After his death the splendid estate of ten square miles given him by Congress and situated in Maine was sold, and much of the beautiful furniture was introduced into the deWolf house.