state of preservation
that they were left uncovered, giving to the new apartment a distinctive
touch. It was then discovered that the house had been built around a
tree, for a substantial oak, with its roots deep in the ground and its
large trunk still shouldering the roof beam, was disclosed. Underneath
the old paper was found fine wood paneling which was scraped and painted
white; next the fireplace was opened, and proved to be eight feet wide
with a swinging crane at the back. This was restored to its original
size, and a square, brick hearth was laid. The old floors were replaced
by new ones, and the entire room was given the tone of the period. Rag
rugs are laid on the floor, and all the furniture represents
seventeenth-century pieces. At one end of the room is the dining-table,
and at the farther side, large French windows hung with chintz open on
to a vine-clad veranda.

[Illustration: The Living Room]

The parlor, which opened from the dining-room, was covered with many
layers of dirty wall-paper. When these were removed, it was discovered
that there was a very fine wainscoting. In one corner was a
three-cornered cupboard with a paneled door underneath. The fireplace
was opened up, and when the room was painted it developed into one of
the most charming rooms in the house. The paneling was painted just off
the white, and the walls were hung with soft, gray paper with tiny pink
flowers, making the color scheme of the room gray and pink. This was
carried out in all the furnishings,--the chintz used for cushions and
the hangings harmonizing with these tones. Instead of having all the
furniture of the Colonial period, comfortable willow chairs were
introduced, in order to give the light, airy touch that makes a summer
home distinctive. This is a large, livable room, well-lighted by many
windows and looking out upon the lawn and the garden.

The hallway is of the plain, simple type which was so common in the
oldest houses. The walls are covered with a reproduction of an old-time
landscape paper, and the passage forms the division line between the old
sitting-room and the dining-room. This dining-room is now used as a
chamber; it is large and sunny with a wide-open fireplace. It is
furnished with an Empire bed and shows everything that would have been
found in the early days in a chamber of this kind, even to the spirit
lamp that stands on the high mantel, the warming-pan beside the generous
fireplace, the oval mir