"COME AND DANCE IN THE BARN"
Although very fond of horses and driving it was not until 1888 that
we indulged ourselves in that direction.
When we built "Redstone" we planned where we would put the stable
when ready for it, but were in no hurry about building.
For fast horses I had no liking. My taste was for high-stepping
carriage horses. A pair that could pull a heavy T-cart with four
people eight or nine miles an hour and keep it up without urging,
were fast enough in my opinion. I wanted high-spirited, blooded
animals, fine carriages, and perfect appointments. Until I could
afford such, I preferred to go without.
In the spring I bought a pair of Black Vermont Morgans. They were
beauties and the whole family fell in love with them at once. For
the summer I secured the use of a neighbor's unoccupied stable
and then commenced the erection of my own. After this was finished
I matched my first horses with another pair exactly like them and
also bought a small pony for the younger children and a larger one
for the boys.
It was not long before I had trained my horses to drive either
tandem, four-in-hand, or three abreast, and with an assortment of
various styles of carriages my equipment was complete.
From the Paris-built drag carrying eight passengers besides my two
men, down to the pony cart, everything was of the best. All was in
good taste and expense had not been considered.
My combination carriage-house and stable was architecturally a
very handsome building, and in its interior every detail, useful
and ornamental, had received careful attention. The building cost
me about seven thousand dollars, but judging from its appearance
and size my neighbors thought that my investment was larger. As
it approached completion I suggested to my wife the idea of giving
a barn-dance, something unique in the annals of Knollwood. We
immediately went into a committee of two on plans and scope and as
a result evolved an evening of surprise and delight for our friends.
The invitations, engraved in usual note-sheet form, had on the upper
half of the page a fine engraving of the front of the stable, and
beneath in old English, "Come and dance in the barn." We received
our guests in the hall and drawing-room, fragrant with blooming
plants. From a rear piazza a carpeted and canvas-enclosed platform
extended across the lawn to the carriage-house. The floor had
been covered with canvas for the dancers. Brilliantly illuminated,
in addition to the permanent decorations, a life-sized jockey in
bronze bas-relief and numerous coaching pictures, was the work of
the florist. The large orchestra was upstairs surrounding the open
carriage trap, which was concealed from below by masses of smilax.
The harness-room was made attractive with rugs and easy chairs for
the card players.
[Illustration: "OFF FOR A DRIVE"]
In the stable each of the six stalls had been converted into a cozy
nook where soft light from shaded lamps fell on rugs and draperies.
On each stall post was a massive floral horseshoe. The orders of
dancing, besides the usual gold-embossed monogram, bore an engraving
of a tandem cart with high-stepping horses and driver snapping his
long whip. Attached to each was a sterling silver pencil representing
the foreleg of a horse in action, the shoe being of gold. Supper
was served in the dining-room from a table decorated in keeping with
the event, the center-piece being a model in sugar of the tandem
design on the order of dancing.
The affair was a great success in every way, and the following
evening we allowed our colored servants to entertain their friends
at the stable. With a few of our neighbors we witnessed the "cake-walk"
and found much fun in it. The next day the horses were in possession.