"Pleasant journey!"
"Hello!"
"Good-bye; our compliments to John Bull!"
CHAPTER VIII.
American Houses.—Furniture.—Luxury.—The Clubs.—An Evening at the Authors' Club.—An Eyesore.—A Wonderful Shot.—Bang, right in the Bull's-eye!
merican houses are furnished very luxuriously, and for the most part in exquisite taste. Here you see the influence of woman in the smallest details of life; indeed, at every step you take, you see that woman has passed that way.
Decorations and furniture, in New York especially, are dark, substantial, and artistic. The liberal use of portières adds greatly to the richness of effect. Even in the hall, doors are replaced by hangings. On all sides there is pleasure for the eyes, whether it rests on furniture, walls, or ceilings. The floors are covered with rich carpets, and the ceilings are invariably decorated in harmony with the rest of the room.
The reception-rooms are on the ground-floor, which is always twelve or fifteen feet above the sidewalk. The suite is composed of three or four rooms (sometimes more), divided one from another by portières. Each room is in a different style. One contains dark furniture and hangings, oil paintings, costly art treasures, majestical tropical plants; another, in Oriental style, invites the visitor to cosy chats among its divans and screens; another, perhaps, has books, etchings, and antiquities of all kinds; another, in the style of a boudoir, will be strewn with knick-knacks, light bric-à-brac, water-colours, statuettes, etc., in artistic disorder; yet another may serve as music-room—here, no carpets, the parquet floor is waxed, the walls are unadorned—all has been thought out with intelligence. Flowers in every room shed sweet fragrance. When all the suite is lighted up, and the portières looped back, the effect is enchanting; and when a score of American women, elegant, handsome, and witty, add life to the scene, I can assure you that you are not in a hurry to consult your watch.