He was solid, correct, and justly successful.

His minor tastes, of course, had been carefully kept up to date.

At the proper time, pictures of the Barbizon masters, old English

plate and portraits, bronzes by Barye and marbles by Rodin,
Persian carpets

and Chinese porcelains, had been introduced to the mansion.
It contained a Louis Quinze reception-room, an Empire
drawing-room,
a Jacobean dining-room, and various apartments dimly reminiscent
of
the styles of furniture affected by deceased monarchs. That the
hallways
were too short for the historic perspective did not make much
difference.
American decorative art is capable de tout, it absorbs all
periods.
Of each period Mr. Weightman wished to have something of the
best.
He understood its value, present as a certificate, and
prospective as
an investment.

It was only in the architecture of his town house that he
remained conservative, immovable, one might almost say
Early-Victorian-Christian. His country house at