Can We Talk 2

Mansions On The River

         Today I went with a small group of people to the state capitol to visit two historic mansions with vast gardens on a major river. The weather was perfect for such a trip. We enjoyed the beauty of nature, cultivated gardens, and saw how the fabulously wealthy lived in bygone eras.

         The first was a large house purchased in England in the early 1900's. It was from the Tudor period. It was dismantled and shipped to America, board by board, pane of glass, etc. The furnishings were gone because the owners had fallen on hard times. It had been in the same family 19 generations, but could no longer be maintained. The government was not willing to take it over. This very wealthy American liked it and wanted to start a community of similar homes in America. It took him three years and almost half a million dollars to reassemble it, adding plumbing, and so forth. Shipping was not included in the costs we were given. Once the house was finished, they added period pieces from the Tudor era, and modern pieces that suited their own needs. Unfortunately, the rich man died one year after they moved in, only in his thirties. His young wife survived another 90 plus years in this house. When she died, In 1969 she turned it into a museum and found lodging more suitable to an elderly woman. The community of similar homes never happened because of the Depression and his death. Large homes sprang up around it of a more modern nature.

         The library was a personal touch of the owners and still houses thousands of books. It was their living area and very modern. Today that room is intact, but roped off for viewing at a distance only. the rest of the house has been refurnished, museum style. We learned a lot of things from our historian tour guide. The house is very dark. The great room was mostly a work room for the servants, except for special occasions and feasts. Candles were expensive, so the English would tak a rush (reed), dip it in animal fat, clip it in a special stand, then burn it at both ends. It only lasted a minute or so. But that gave us the expression, burning your candle on both ends.

         We saw am actual trunk from England, upstairs in the old version of a man cave. It served as a safe. It was impossible to open by cutting or shooting. It was booby trapped. If you tried to open it with a stolen key, you'd have to remove rags stuffed in the lock first. When you withdrew your finger, the blades were spring and your finger was cut off. Thus, you were caught "red-handed".

         An even better one came from the dining hall. There was only one chair at the table. The master of the house sat there, so he was the "chair man". The table was really just a wide board placed on wooden legs, but covered with an elegant cloth. It was much more narrow than today's dining table. So the "chair man" was "chairman of the board. All the others, the chosen guests, adults only, sat on benches or stools around the board. They were "on the board". They were happy to be on the board, because the chairman was a duke or earl or some other important person who might even collect taxes.

         Outside we enjoyed the architecture, the garden paths, the magnolias, the shrubs, and flowers. Vegetables were mixed with herbs and tulips.

         We were running out of time, so we skipped the house tour at the second mansion. We walked the gardens only, and did so in a rush. The path was long and downhill to the Japanese Gardens. I didn't make it to the Italian Garden. The many, many steps, and fountains were breath-taking. Red azaleas covered the hill at the bottom. The air was so fragrant. Children were running everywhere. Our minds boggled to think one family was rich enough to build all that for themselves, so vast that no private family or group could maintain it after their passing. At the entrance they were holding a fair with food trucks, crafts, and plant sales. That was on flat land. We didn't take time to look at that

         I'll never be that rich and don't want that large a group of employees to maintain my yard. But it did make me want to pull some weeds and plant some rosemary. Just give me some mosquito repellent.