Show GLOOMY OLD FRONT PARLOR mid victorian furnishings served ti remind beholders of particularly solemn mortuary chapels the mansard sheltered the lations of two or more mora garland households of mid victorian tastes it was aits a debauch of black walnut and haircloth in a twilight ot of heavy lambrequins lambre quins and large figured wall paper never in all my twenty two years had I 1 behold beheld so many marble top tables gathered under a single roof there were three in tho the parlor earlor alone one bore a rogers group coniing coming to the parson it was called another a stereoscope with views of the yosemite and the centennial of 1876 the third served as aa pedestal for a case of pallid wax flow pra jers on the walls hun hung oils of mountain scenery which it would have hava crazed a giolo geologist to classify the sitting room across tho the wide hall was even worse it was bullied by the ugly bulk of a secretary with vicious rams heads carved on its lower doors second in massive gloom was a black marble crowned by a black marble clock with a limping tick and an asthmatic chime tables filled tho the spaces unclaimed by haircloth sofas and chairs and a whatnot bestrode a corner I 1 was now prepared to find the Mat maidens dens prayer land and I 1 did poor maiden neatly done dona in best female academy style there was wag also a bronze plaque of washington crossing the delaware it was a bad cross crossing irig none of the pictures were inspiring but one at least was wag appropriate it portrayed the youthful victoria in her nightie receiving the news that she was now queen of great britain defender of the faith ani high sponsor for or art r comans womans HOMO home Cow companion panion |