STARK PLACE, DUNBARTON. 85
It is pleasant to happen upon an old estate which retains so much of colonial flavor as the Stark place. The mansion itself embodies more of the idea of the country house of a provincial magnate, than the scanty horizon and limited areas of several of our old acquaintances can supply. An air of aristocratic ease, of old-time grandeur, of picturesque repose, pervades the place. The house is of wood, two stories and a half high, with twelve dormer windows, a gambrel roof, and a large two-story ell attached. It has all the distinctive marks of a now obsolete style of architecture. Like most of the buildings constructed at that time, it is very substantial. The massive doors, the staircases, and spacious apartments form a striking contrast with the same class of buildings of modern times. Tall elms bend their heads in continual obeisance to the mansion around which they stand like so many aged servitors about their master.
The mansion fronts the north. Between it and the highway is a yard surrounded by a painted iron fence. We open the gate, and walk up the path to the wide portal. The door swings open and we enter the hall, which extends through the middle of the house. It is twelve feet wide and forty long. Deer's antlers, specimens of taxidermy, and sporting weapons hang upon and adorn the walls. The first door upon the right opens into the family parlor. We enter.
The room is twenty-two by eighteen feet. The woodwork is plain, being destitute of the elaborate enrichment seen in many of the houses of the period. By the windows are deep embrasures with cushioned seats, inviting repose. The room is furnished with the antique furniture of another generation. Everything is old-fashioned, but it is rich, comfortable, and durable. Nearly every object recalls a reminiscence. The gorgeous carpet was laid under the direction of stately Sarah McKinstry, fifty years ago. Valuable paintings hang on the wall, among them family portraits done by Stuart, Prof. Morse, Harding, and Ingham, leading artists of two generations ago. A portrait of Gen. Stark, by Miss Hannah Crowninshield, shows the hero in all the glory of his continental uniform, at a time when he was about eighty. His white hair covered his head. The likeness is said to be not a good one. The forehead is too narrow, and there is too much length to the head and face. A better and a truer picture is one by Gilbert Stuart, of a young lady about twenty-four years old. The face is one of rare loveliness. The portrait is that of the present owner of the estate, Miss Charlotte Stark.
Opening from the parlor is a room some sixteen by a dozen feet, with three sides lined with book-shelves, which are filled with elegant bindings. Here are books of two generations. Some of the volumes are rare. Scientific and agricultural books lead, next in order history, and there is a large assortment of books on general topics. There are about two thousand volumes in all. The library contains other things besides books. Here are pictures, and relics, and articles of virtu to please the curious, a regular bric-a-brac collection. On the table is a fan once the property of Lady Pepperell. The cane presented to Gen. Stark when he was a major, for his valiant conduct in the defence of Fort William Henry, stands in a corner. It is made from the bone of a whale, and is headed with ivory. A bronze statuette of Napoleon I, stands on the mantelpiece. It was brought from France, as a gift from LaFayette, to Major Stark. These, with some Revolutionary mementos of the General and Major, are a few of the many curious things which abound in this almost inexhaustible mine.
There are nine rooms on the ground floor. The sitting-room and the dining- room are large, commodious apartments. The latter looks out toward the east through three windows. The view is thoroughly charming. In the second story there are ten rooms, and three in the attic. In the ell part is the kitchen, scullery, and sleeping rooms for the house servants.
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