IT was because the writer knew that a great many men and all the boys
rebelled against the conventionalities and restrictions of a modern house
that he first invented and suggested the surprise den and told how to make
one years ago in the _Outing_ magazine. Since that article appeared the
idea has been adopted by a number of people. There is a beautiful one in
Toledo, O., where the writer was entertained during the floods, and Doctor
Root, of Hartford, Conn., has even a better one in his home in that Yankee
city. Fig. 308 shows a rough sketch of a corner of Doctor Root's surprise
den which he calls his "loggery."
From the outside of the house there is no indication of anything upon the
inside that may not be found in any conventional dwelling, which is the
proper way to build the surprise den.
Figs. 307, 309, and 310 are sketches made as suggestions to those wishing
to add the surprise den to their dwelling.
To fathers and mothers having sons anywhere from twelve to thirty years of
age, it is almost a necessity nowadays to give these boys a room of their
own, popularly known as the "den," a retreat where they can go and sit in
a chair without having fancy embroidered tidies adhere to their coat
collars, where they can lean back in their chairs, if they choose, with no
danger of ruining the valuable Hepplewhite or breaking the claw feet off a
rare Chippendale--a place where they can relax. The greater the contrast
between this room and the rest of the house, the greater will be the
enjoyment derived by the boys to whom it belongs. The only two surprise
dens which I have personally visited are the pride of the lives of two
gentlemen who are both long past the years generally accorded to youth,
but both of them are still boys in their hearts. The truth is a surprise
den appeals to any man with romance in his soul; and the more grand,
stately, and formal his house may be, the greater will the contrast be and
the greater the surprise of this den. It is a unique idea and makes a
delightful smoking-room for the gentlemen of the house as well as a den
for the boys of the house.
Fig. 307. Fig. 308. Fig. 309. Fig. 310.
[Illustration: Suggestions for interiors of surprise dens and sketch of
Dr. Root's surprise den.]
If the reader's house is already built, the surprise den may be erected as
an addition; it may be built as a log cabin after the manner of any of
those previously described in this book, or it may be made an imitation
log cabin by using slabs and nailing them on the walls in place of real
whole logs. Doctor Root's surprise den, or "loggery," is made of whole
logs and chinked with moss. Fig. 310 is supposed to be made of slabs, half
logs, or puncheons nailed to the walls and ceiling and so arranged that
the visitor cannot detect the deception. Personally, however, I do not
like deception of any sort and would recommend that the house be made, if
possible, of whole logs; but whatever way you build it, remember that it
must have a generous, wide fireplace, a crane, and a good hearthstone, and
that your furniture must either be made of the material to be found in the
woods or selected from the antique furniture of some old farmhouse, not
mahogany furniture, but Windsor chairs, three-legged stools, and deal-wood
tables--such furniture as might be found in an old pioneer's home.
Fig. 311. Fig. 312. Fig. 313. Fig. 314. Fig. 315. Fig. 316. Fig.
317.
Fig. 318. Fig. 319. Fig. 320.
[Illustration: Details of combined door-knob and wooden latch.]
The principal thing to the surprise den, however, is the doorway. The
outside of the door--that is, the side seen from the main part of the
house--should be as formal as its surroundings and give no indication of
what might be on the other side. If it opens from the most formal room in
the house, so much the better. Fig. 321 shows the outside of the door of
the surprise den; I do not mean by this outside of the house but a doorway
facing the dining-room, library, drawing-room, or parlor. Fig. 321 shows
one side of the door and Fig. 322 the other side of the same door. In this
instance one side of the door is supposed to have a bronze escutcheon and
a glass knob (Figs. 315 and 316). Of course, any other sort of a knob
(Fig. 313) will answer our purpose, but the inside, or the surprise-den
side, of the door must have