Mrs. Radigan: Her Biography, with that of Miss Pearl Veal, and the Memoirs of J. Madison MudisonLloyd, Nelson
General
Mrs. Radigan: Her Biography, with that of Miss Pearl Veal, and the Memoirs of J. Madison Mudison
Lloyd, Nelson
New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction; Satire; Social classes -- Fiction; Women -- Conduct of life -- Fiction
I went through the new Radigan house on Fifth Avenue the other day, and
I must say that not in years have I had so delightful an adventure as
that trip through my friends' fairy-palace. The phrase fairy-palace is
used not to imply beauty, but the marvel of its building, for it might
be said to have arisen in a night. But Coppe & Coppe are masterful
architects. They hold the time record for a twenty-seven-story office
building, and with artists like these, Radigan's money, and a cousin
who is a walking delegate, wonders can be accomplished. The mansion
to-day is practically finished, except for the lightning-rods on the
tower, which rises from the western front, an exact copy of those
truncated ones of Notre Dame.
We strolled up in the afternoon, the Radigans, Miss Veal, and myself,
and on the way picked up J. Madison Mudison, who was walking off a
little stag dinner of the night before, and seemed rather depressed.
As we passed Seventieth Street we got the first view of the new house
and crossed the street to get the best effects. Mrs. Radigan, with
much pride, pointed out the exterior beauties of the structure. With
the gardens, it occupies an entire block, save for a row of apartment
houses on the Madison Avenue end, and I must confess that the bare
backs of these plebeian structures, with their laundry work floating
in the breeze, do not make an agreeable setting; but Mrs. Radigan said
that that objection would soon be done away with, as the upward trend
of trade would eventually replace the flats with fine office buildings.
So we tried to rub them from our eyes and see only the splendid edifice
that was glistening in the afternoon sun.
Mrs. Radigan was beaming. As mistress of such a home she had a good
right.
"Mr. Coppe assures me that it is perfect," she said, when we had stood
for some minutes in mute admiration. "He declares that it is his firm's
she-dove."
"Mr. Coppe tells me," she went on, "that the front is just like
Ver-sales, the palace of the Lewises, Lewis cattorze, Lewis cans, and
Lewis seeze. The tower is like that of Notre Dayme exactly, only red
to match the front." Mrs. Radigan had assumed something of the air
of a sight-seeing automobile lecturer, and fearing that her strident
tones would collect a crowd I began to move ahead with Miss Veal. Then
I caught a few words more and loath to lose so lucid a treatise on
architecture, paused to catch this: "Mr. Coppe says a building must
always express something. You observe how he has carried out the idea.
Look along the north end of the second story and you will see a window
with six classic columns outside. That is John's study."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account