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Page 20
Jill continued:
"'The floors of the dining-room and hall are on the same level, but
that of the drawing-room is one or two feet higher--'
"I don't like that at all. Should stumble forty times a day."
"'--which is typical of its higher social plane, makes a charming
raised seat on the platform at the foot of the stairs, and gives a more
picturesque effect than would be possible if all the rooms were on a
par.'
"Can't help that. I shouldn't like it. I'd rather be a commonplace
housekeeper."
"'The higher broad landing in the staircase, running quite across the
hall, makes a sort of gallery with room for a few book-shelves, a
lounging-seat in the window, a band of musicians on festival occasions,
with perhaps a pretty view from the window.'
"If the landscape happens to fit the plan."
"'Under the lower portion, of the stairs there is a toilet room, and at
the same end of the hall wide doors lead to the piazza. A long window
also gives access to the same piazza from the drawing-room. In the
second story the chambers have plenty of closets and dressing-rooms,
and yet but few doors. Indeed, many of these may be omitted by using
porti�res between each chamber and its dressing-room. You will notice,
too, that by locking one door on each story the servants' quarters can
be entirely detached from the rest of the house.'
"Yes," said Jill, laying down the letter; "and that suggests another
question: What do you think of a plan like this which provides no
passage from the kitchen to the front part of the house except across
the dining-room?"
[Illustration: SECOND FLOOR OF WILL'S MASTERPIECE.]
"I should refer the question back to the housekeepers themselves; it
is domestic rather than architectural. If the kitchen servant attends
to the door bell, and is constantly sailing back and forth between the
cooking-stove and the front door like a Fulton Ferry boat, the amount
of travel would justify a special highway--even a suspension bridge.
Likewise, when the side entrance for the boys and other careless
members of the family is behind the dining-room, that apartment will
become a noisy thoroughfare, unless there is a corridor passing around
it. This is a common dilemma in planning the average house, and while a
direct communication between the front and rear portions is always
desirable, crossing one of the principal rooms is often the least of
two evils. It seems to be so in this plan."
"Go on, Jill."
"There is but one more sentence about the plan: 'The outside of the
house is severely plain, but you can easily make it more ornamental.'"
"That's true. Nothing is easier than to make things ornamental. The
hard thing is to make them simply useful. Now if you want my candid
opinion of this plan," Jack continued, "I should say it is first-rate
if the front door looks toward the east: if there is a grand view of
rivers and mountains toward the southwest; if the family live on the
west piazza all the forenoon; if they board a moderate family of
servants in the north end (which I notice is a few steps lower than the
dining-room--for social reasons, I suppose)--if they keep up rather a
'tony' style of living in the south end; are not above condescending to
men of low estate to the extent of receiving common people in the big
hall, but holding themselves about two steps above the average human;
and, finally, if and provided the butler's pantry is made as large
again for a smoking-room, and the kitchen pantry made large enough to
hold the butler. With these few remarks, I think we may lay this set of
plans on the table."
[Illustration]
CHAPTER VI.
THE WISDOM OF JILL IN THE KITCHEN.
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